


The Scent of Dog

by sofie_sticated



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Blood and Violence, F/M, Mythical Beings & Creatures, idk what else to tag but i like this story in my head lol, vampire!Lucy Heartfilia, werewolf!Natsu Dragneel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-01
Updated: 2018-10-07
Packaged: 2019-02-09 04:42:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 80,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12880386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sofie_sticated/pseuds/sofie_sticated
Summary: After being transformed into a vampire, Lucy now has to struggle with not only the pain of vampirism, but also the trauma from watching her whole family die. Then a certain pink-haired werewolf comes along, and the world doesn't seem so cruel anymore. [Mythical creature AU] [NALU]





	1. Alone but not lonely

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, new story! pretty cool lol  
> Okay, so big thanks to @proudtobeaginger on tumblr for betaing this first chapter! It really helped me out, so thank you so much! ♡  
> Hope you enjoy!

Pain. Pain was all that Lucy felt. It was like fire or acid was running through her veins - maybe even both at the same time. Yet she couldn't move. Not her arms, not her legs, not even her eyes. But she could hear everything. Their screams, their pleads and the way their heart beat got slower and slower for every moment they were screaming. It kept replaying in her head. And the smell… the smell of their blood. It wasn't metallic.

It was magnificent. The smell of her mother's sweet and almost smooth-smelling blood reached her nostrils. The smell of her father's sweet, yet savory blood hung low in the air. It was like flames entering her nasal passages. She wanted to taste it, and oh fuck, she felt shitty about it.

"She's comin' to, master," a man with a deep and hoarse voice stated. "I can see her eyes movin' under her lid."

 _Oh no. Oh no, no, no._ She remembered now.

_They started with Aquarius - her caretaker. A strict, yet secretly caring, mermaid. She usually had legs, but could summon her tail as she pleased._

_Lucy had just finished washing her face and was about to change into her nightgown when she had heard an ear-piercing scream. It came from down the hall from her room. Hiding behind a door, she had just watched as a hooded man - a vampire - drained the life of her beloved caretaker. As she briefly made eye contact with Aquarius's dying eyes, she watched her mouth 'go'._

_And so she did._

_Running to her parent's room, she had woken them up, screaming bloody murder. Her father, known for his brutality, had jumped out of bed and ripped the leg off the bedside table. It hadn't been sharp though. That was his mistake. And that's the reason he died so soon. Soon, Loke, Virgo, Aries and everyone else was dead. Everyone besides Lucy and Layla. They were hiding in the bedroom. Lucy, not being a child anymore, had protested against her mother's pleads for her to stay back, but it was for nothing. The door to the bedroom opened. A tall man, grim looking, stepped inside the room, his fangs bloody._

" _Lucy, get back!" her mother had screamed, running towards the man with another stake. A dull one. "Jose… we have given you everything. We owe you nothing!"_

_The man had just laughed, throwing his head back as he did so. "Oh, that's where you are wrong, love."_

_Not being fast enough, from being just a mere human, Layla had been the last one to die. Lucy had screamed and cried, jumping towards the man as he took her mother from her. He easily pushed her to the ground, her weeping continuing. She hadn't been strong enough._

_There was no stopping now._

_As Jose threw her mother's corpse to the side, wiping his bloody mouth, he walked towards Lucy, who had already begun to back away on her elbows. Jose laughed once again, stepping down on her leg, which snapped immediately. Screaming out, she tried to grab her leg, trying to soothe the pain, however; Jose grabbed her by the throat, staring into her eyes, hunger painted across his face._

" _Lucy Heartfilia," he had muttered, taking in her beauty as he gazed at her terrified face. "A spitting image of your mother, indeed. You, see," he took a whiff of her scent, ignoring her choked cries. "Your father owes me money, but at the moment, I couldn't care less about that. I think I'll take something a little more precious. That sounds fair, doesn't it?"_

_Sniffling as she spat him in the face, she choked out, "Y-you have al-already taken everything!"_

_The devilish man roared out a laugh as his eyes turned black from the hunger. His fangs grew longer, and he licked his lips. He dove into her neck, however, just when Lucy had thought it was her turn to die, he whispered, "I think I'm going to keep you."_

_Pulling away his face from her neck, he bit his wrist open, holding it against her mouth. She had had no choice but to drink the metallic substance. It was gross. Revolting to say the least, but as her mouth slowly filled up, she had realized that she had no choice but to swallow it. So she did, tears falling from her then brown eyes._

_Smiling in satisfaction, Jose dug his teeth into her tender skin, where she would scream as loud as she could, struggling against his grip. If she could have gagged, she would've as she felt the blood leaving her body, being replaced with nothing but coldness. And that was where she lost consciousness. However, the last thing she heard before passing out was, "Seems as if the two of us has the rest of eternity together."_

_And then she blacked out._

And now she was back.

Back, but colder. Not that she was freezing or anything, but everything in her body was cold as ice. Not a single warmth was left in there. Was she dead? No, but maybe she had just lost too much blood? On the inside, she knew what was happening. She was transitioning. Transitioning into the things that had killed her family. A vampire. No, a monster. She knew, however, from what she had learned in school, that vampires had to finish the ritual by drinking human blood. If she didn't she would die. She would join her mother in heaven. Join her father, Aquarius, Loke and everyone else. If she could just wait it out…

Feeling a kick to her head, she yelped. Through her life, she had gotten hurt many times, usually from being extremely clumsy. However, as she just received that blow to her head, she felt an acidic burning sensation in her head. As if her all of her limps had just been asleep, she grabbed her golden locks with her stinging and pricking fingers.

"There we go, love," Jose murmured, the smirk on his lips almost audible. "Rise and shine, sunshine."

She clenched her eyes tighter, refusing to look up. That was, until something warm hit her chin. Then her cheek. Then her lips. Blood. She needed it. She _had_ to get it. She felt her tongue fighting against her clenched teeth, trying to get a taste of the wonderful plasma on her face. It burned. Everything inside her was on fire, and the only cure was the blood currently dripping down on her face. She needed it. She needed it _right now_.

But she just couldn't.

"Aw, come on, Bunny-girl," Bunny-girl? The man, apparently in the same room as her, seemed annoyed and impatient. "That shit will make you strong. So eat yer veggies or don't. Die, if that's what ya wanna."

"Gajeel, I need her," Jose simply said. "Revenge is all I can say."

The man grumbled _'whatever'_ , clearly pissed at the blonde for not eating up.

The fight was becoming impossible, and at some point, she was even afraid she might rip out her hair if she kept this up. Another droplet of blood reached lips, then another one. Drip, drip, drop. For minutes it seemed, she had held her breathe. How was that even possible? Suddenly she let herself slip. It smelled like the sweetest and florally sensation she had ever smelled. She had to. She had to taste it.

Her tongue slipped through her teeth, making contact with the sweet, sweet blood. The fire in her veins seemed to disappear, but she needed more. Still not opening her eyes, she reached after something. She need more blood. In her arms, she felt a body, but she couldn't care less of who it was. She was _thirsty_. Feeling a slight pain in her gums, she bit into the soft skin of the body. The sensation was intense. It felt like there was never enough blood. There was never anything like 'full'. She needed more.

"Good girl," Jose chuckled lightly at the girl's eagerness.

Then everything fell apart. Opening her eyes, Lucy almost screamed out. Her mother's lifeless corpse was lying dead in her arms. Her eyes were not fully closed, and her skin was paler than she had ever seen it.

"Mom," she whispered hoarsely, tears welling up in her eyes. She had just drunk from her mother. Her mother's blood was around her mouth, and that was the fuel she was currently living of. "MOM!"

"Oh, shaddup, will ya?" Gajeel demanded. "I'm hungry and ya can't even appreciate a meal when it's handed to ya?"

Gajeel's fangs were out, his eyes black from the hunger. He had piercings covering his entire body - something Lucy had never seen in her entire life. His long black hair was tied up in a bun behind his head. And worst of all, he wore a cloak, the hood resting on his back. He was the one who had killed Aquarius.

Jose, who was just smiling proudly at her, squatted down beside her, putting a hand on her shoulder, which made her back away from him.

"Don't be scared, darling," he said in a gentle town, which just made it more scary.

"Y-you killed everyone," she whispered, giving up on keeping her tears back. "You killed me!" she yelled out, earning a tired sigh from the man.

"Yes, yes I did," he admitted, not a single ounce of guilt visible on his face. "When you become more experienced you will understand."

"No, I won't!" Lucy screamed, jumping to her feet, still wearing the clothes she had worn the previous day. "You guys are monsters!"

Tears were streaming down her cheeks as she gazed out the window, refusing to look Jose in the eyes. It was still night time. The crescent moon was hanging high on the sky. She felt a small whimper leave her lips, hastily biting down to prevent another one from escaping. She couldn't be weak right now.

Then it hit her…

Vampires had some sort of super strength, right? That was what she had learned in her school. Vampires were extremely fast, strong, and manipulative. The ' _Ghouls and Monsters_ ' class, which she had gotten numerous A's in. She had a plan, they just didn't know.

Gajeel caught onto her however. He squinted his eyes as he saw where her gaze was headed, but instead of calling her out on her obvious escape plan, he simply walked over to the bedside window, opening it as he sighed. "God, this room reeks of depression. Were ya parents even happy in their marriage, Bunny-girl?"

As Jose chuckled at the seemingly 'innocent' joke, Gajeel made firm eye contact with the trembling blonde. He was helping her?

Then everything turned to slow-motion. Lucy set off on her feet. Never in her life - beside when she had drunk her mother's blood - had she experienced such a rush. Everything came as if it was the most natural thing Lucy could do.

Behind her she heard Jose scream something after her, but she couldn't hear it.

In front of her, however, Gajeel lunged out at her. But his arm wasn't going to hit her. If it was her now heightened senses or her mathematical thinking brain didn't matter. He was going to miss her by a few inches, and by the look on his face, it was clear to see that it was intended that way. Dodging Gajeel clenched fist, she briefly placed her hands on the windowsill before letting her vampire strength and speed do the jump.

Gracefully landing on her feet a few stories below her parent's bedroom, she wasted no time looking back. Her bare feet stormed through the wet grass as she just ran the fastest she had ever run.

"I will find you, bitch!" She heard Jose yell out of the window, but she couldn't care less. Soon, she was miles away. Further away from the mansion than she had ever been.

She was free.

She was alone.

* * *

 

It had been a month.

A month of hiding in the shadows. She knew Jose was after her, so she made sure to use different names when she checked into hotels during the day. Miranda Heart, Sophie Stars, Joyce Hennings… she usually just picked whatever name popped into her mind. She even had a receptionist compliment her _beautiful_ name as she had accidentally picked the name of said receptionist. She had just returned to compliment, smiling as genuine as she could.

She even had made a schedule for herself.

_4:30 am - 2:30 pm_

_Sleep_

_2:30 pm - 11 pm_

_Pass the time however you can_

_(writing perhaps?)_

_11 pm - 4:30 am_

_Out time_

_(feed, search for hotels, and do whatever you can do at night. It's not like anything is open anyways.)_

At first she had been surprised when she found out that she could actually sleep. She had half expected to have to buy a casket or something. Sleeping relieved her though, it passed the time and let her escape for a bit.

Despite the convenient sleeping ability, being a vampire sucked.

Firstly, the sun was now her enemy. It had caught her by surprise the first time she entered the sun. She had thought it might just sting for a bit, but nope. Her whole body began to burn, and soon after that, it caught on fire. Luckily, she was able to crawl to safety in a shadowy alley, where the fire just went out by itself.

Secondly… every. Single. Emotion. Was. Heightened. If she thought PMS was bad, she would never have been prepared for this. Besides the constant mood swings, the memory of witnessing her whole family die was still fresh. Like a bleeding wound, it wasn't healing. Of course, if she had still been human she would have still been devastated. However, now that she was a vampire, she was not just sad. She was angry, revengeful, and had even trashed a hotel room in anger. From not having any money, besides the few thousands of Jewels she had in her purse, there was no way she would be able to repay the damages, so she just left at night time. It was her fake name anyways, so it was not like they were going to find a Trixie King anywhere. Unless she had just doomed some poor girl somewhere by stealing her name. Then yes, then they would find a Trixie King.

And thirdly, two fang marks permanently decorated her pale skin. They weren't fading, they were just a dark shade of red – almost black – and getting her too much unwanted attention.

Fourthly, the hunger. Probably the worst thing about being a vampire. It was _always_ there. When she woke up, she almost instinctively went outside to hunt, however, she was always stopped by the sun. It was even in her dreams. She dreamt of the beautiful crimson red substance almost every day. Just the thought of it drove her crazy. She avoided the color red at all costs, she even asked for another room once because the carpet was red in hers.

It was torture. It wasn't like she was hungry, in the sense that humans feel hunger. It was like a drug. It was like third degree burns down her whole throat, just by thinking of blood. And the worst part of it all? Every living being smelled like blood. It smelled the best from humans and human like creatures (she encountered nymph once. Smelled like flowers. Delicious edible flowers.) but animals had a scent as well. However, she had been vegetarian from the age of ten, and she wasn't going to change that just because her diet was a bit screwed up at the moment.

She had never killed a person before. Not once. Despite how hard it was to stop, despite the fact that her throat would burn as if someone had poured lava into her mouth, she couldn't get herself to kill. The thought of it made her sick.

But this night was different. It was almost midnight, and she had just checked out of the hotel and was now walking - with an empty stomach - through the streets of whatever town she had ended up in. She was so, so hungry. Every passerby was a pulse with legs to her right now. Didn't matter if they had families. Didn't matter if they had their whole life in front of them. She just needed blood. Now.

Making her way past a bar, she noticed a girl standing alone, smoking a cigarette. She seemed to be waiting for something as she occasionally would peak up and search for something or someone.

She looked… nice. Really nice. And she was pretty young. Around Lucy's age.

Catching herself thinking of mercy, Lucy's thirst overran her. She needed that girl's blood.

The bar was loud, and the people in there was probably too drunk to notice anything happening.

Her wobbly legs could easily be mistaken for a drunken walk, so she decided to play along.

"E-excuse me," she peeped, using the drunkest voice she could remember. She had only been drunk a small handful of times, usually with Loke - who was a lightweight - so she knew what she was doing.

The girl looked up, sending Lucy a sympathetic smile. Lucy stumbled towards the girl, grabbing the walls of the loud and rowdy bar. They were the only ones outside. Bad choice.

"Had too much to drink?" the girl asked sweetly, assisting Lucy's fake drunk self. As the girl's arm swept around her, she got a good whiff of her scent. She smelt so sweet. She felt her eyes contracting, meaning that they were growing black, but she quickly blinked, trying to contain herself.

"Mhmm," she muttered, grabbing the shirt of the girl as she was about to fake fall. "I think… can you hold my hair, please?"

"Of course, honey," she replied, taking a last drag of her cigarette before stubbing it against the wall. "Although, I think we should go over here. I don't think they want vomit on the sidewalk."

_Perfect._

Lucy followed the girl, who seemed to lead her just around the corner to an alley. What cliché way to die.

Hunching over, Lucy felt the girl's soft fingers on her back, gently tugging away her hair. She grabbed the wall, trying not to stumble, just from the gentle touch from the girl.

She couldn't take this anymore.

Her pulse was so calm. She could hear the blood flowing from artery to artery.

Standing up straight, Lucy took a deep breath, feeling her eyes turn black. Turning around, looking the confused girl deep into the eyes. Her fangs appeared hastily, her tongue tracing them as she stared at her future meal.

Then she attacked. Pushing the girl against the wall, she firmly placed her one hand over the girl's mouth, silencing her screams, while pressing her against the wall with her other forearm. Her hand was soon wet from the tears of the poor girl, whose eyes were pleading for mercy.

Taking a sniff against her neck she felt a rush through her body. She was _so_ hungry.

_Wonder how her family is…_

_Stop thinking like that._

_She's just a mere blood bag!_

_With feeling and hopes and dreams…_

_Fuck._

_Crap._

_Shit._

_I'm so hungry._

_I'm so fucking hungry._

_Blood…_

_But she's too innocent._

_I can't…_

_But I'm so… hungry_

_It fucking burns_

_It hurts…_

_I want my mom._

Removing her hand from the crying girl, the girl fell to the ground, sobbing into her hand. Her whole body shook as Lucy, herself, was crying too. Mostly because of how hungry she was, but also because she knew she wouldn't have stopped.

Sighing through her tears, she knelt down to the girl, forcefully lifting her chin. If it was an instinct or just the burning hunger speaking, she couldn't tell.

Looking her deep in the eyes, Lucy sighed once again, "Look… can you try to forget this please?" she tried. She knew couldn't. She, herself, couldn't even forget about this.

However, the girl, seemingly in a trance, nodded. "I just went to hold your hair while you threw up." Her tears had stopped, and her pupils had gone wide.

Lucy blinked. It had taken _weeks_ for Lucy to not flinch every time she thought of Jose feeding off of her. How could she just say that?

Then she remembered. In her ' _Ghouls and Monsters_ ' class, they had talked about the vampire's manipulative nature. Despite getting straight A's, Lucy felt incredibly stupid. What her teacher had meant was mind control. Mind-freaking-control. All she had thought of it was that a vampire wasn't the best person to be friends with. But oh, she had been wrong. It wasn't their personalities. It was a literal power she had.

Still looking the girl straight in the eyes, she continued, "You were extremely nice. You rubbed my back and I thanked you afterwards."

"I felt good after helping you. It makes me happy to help," she finished, her eyes not even a bit watery.

Ouch. She had almost killed this girl. This incredible nice and caring girl. She was a fucking monster.

A tear fell from her eye. "Yeah… you really helped me there. I would have collapsed if it wasn't for you."

Despite being one month into vampirism, she didn't know how to end a trance like this. This was her first time doing it after all.

Instinctively, she blinked a few times, which seemed to do the trick as the girl sent her one of her sympathetic smiles.

"You feeling okay again?"

Nodding, Lucy gulped, desperately trying to find her drunk persona again. "Y-yeah, thank you. I feel better now."

"Are you okay on your own? Or do you need me to walk you home?"

She shook her head no. "I-I'll be fine. It's not that far. I need… go. Work tomorrow."

The girl stood up laughing, extending her hand to the blonde, who hesitantly took it. Both standing up, the girl pulled out a cigarette, offering one to Lucy who politely decline.

"Good luck with that then," she giggled, lighting cancerous stick. "Pickle juice does wonders for hangovers."

Laughing back nervously, Lucy felt the hunger again. She almost hissed as the pain worsened, but shut herself up by biting her bottom lip. A little too hard, maybe. She tasted her own metallic vampire blood.

She needed to find someone to feed off. Not this girl though. How many people were she going to say that before she died of starvation?

Saying their goodbyes, Lucy walked as fake 'I'm-drunk-so-I'm-trying-to-walk-steadily' as she could. She wandered to end of the town, where she was met a gravel road, leading to nowhere.

What she didn't know, was that she was being followed. Someone had noticed her little attempt to feed.

* * *

 

It had been a painful transformation this month. The Ice Princess had been out of town to recharge is ice powers so he didn't accidentally die. That meant that Natsu had to transform on his own - without the support of anyone! Despite hating Gray a lot, he needed that bastard's support when he was in pain. He had been there ever since his first transformation when he was twelve.

Grumbling to himself about the inconvenience of Ice Powers, he had begun his journey back to Fairy Tail. It was only a little while away from the cave he usually transformed in, yet his stomach was already rumbling for Mira's food. It was about 4:30 AM, so the sun was not even out yet. Taking off the white pouch on his back, he began looking for the beef jerky he had packed for himself the day before. Pre-breakfast he called it. It was important to build a solid foundation before the most important meal of the day.

As he began chowing down the dry meat, a smell of metal hit his nose. Beef jerky was dry and roasted, so it wasn't as if he was eating raw steak or anything. Sniffing again, he began following the scent of blood. Maybe someone was hurt? He quickly inhaled the last piece of jerky as he began running towards the scent of fresh blood.

He was running on gravel, but soon he found himself having to take a turn into a field with tall grass. He was in the middle of nowhere, after all. The ground beneath the grass was muddy and watery, but he didn't really care about dirtying his feet.

"Hold on, I'm on my way!" he yelled, hoping whoever the blood was coming from could hold on a little longer. Just until he got there.

Fighting his way through the tall grass he finally got to smell of blood. Pushing away the branch from a tall bush, his mouth gaped at the sight in front him.

A blonde girl was cradling a dead man her arms. She wore some dirty denim overalls and a white - just as dirty - t-shirt. And she was biting into the poor man's pulseless neck, slurping his blood greedily. Her hands were shaking, as if she was scared. Beside her, a bloodied stake was cast aside.

Vampires had great hearing, just as werewolves had. She knew he was there, but she seemed too hungry to stop.

"Little late for a midnight snack, don't ya think?" he asked, raising his eyebrow at the vampire, who quickly put down her 'meal'.

As she turned to him, he shuddered. From her dark, black eyes, tears were falling rapidly as she was cradling the dead man in her arms. Blood was smeared all over her face, which didn't seem to bother her. If anything, she just licked the residue off her lips. Despite the fact that she had just emptied every single drop of blood in that man's body, she looked hungry. As if she had never eaten in her entire life. The red bags under her eyes weren't from crying, but from the hunger which showed on her face.

"Early breakfast," she sniffled, drying her eyes with the back of her hand. It didn't seem to help very much though as fresh tears just kept falling.

"W-why are you crying?" Natsu asked, almost worried about the killer in front of him.

She didn't answer, she just began crying harder as she put down the corpse. She sank further down to her knees, her black eyes turning brown as she covered them, crying harder. Sobs wracked through her body as she buried her head in hands further.

"I don't like killing," she cried. "He at-attacked me and I was so, _so_ hungry! I didn't mean to! He had a stake and… and…" She cut herself off as her finishing sob left her mouth, where she after just shook for a while, sniffling occasionally. Natsu felt misplaced. He had never been good with crying people, let alone vampires. He was a werewolf after all. They were basically worst enemies. Or so his dad had told him. Natsu was pretty different from his dad though. More… friendly he liked to say. His dad had just called him naive, didn't really matter though.

Not like his dad was alive or anything.

"But it's okay," she whispered, lowering her hands into her lap. "I lost my appetite. You reek of dog."

"I don't smell!" Natsu protested, crossing his arms as he pouted. "I'll have ya know that werewolves are a clean and well-groomed species, thank you very much!"

The girl looked up at Natsu with big eyes, where she then turned to the moon, which was slowly sinking into the horizon. "It was a full moon tonight," she muttered, looking up at him again.

"Yeah, I _noticed_ ," Natsu chuckled bitterly, remembering his transformation again.

"I'm sorry," she simply said. Natsu knew what she meant. It wasn't a secret that the werewolf transformation was a painful one. Horror stories had been told by the older people in the pack to scare the ones, who had never even transformed. Natsu clearly remembered his big brother, Zeref, telling him how every bone in his would break before _any_ fur would start to grow. That night, Natsu had cried to his mother, Grandeeney, about why he couldn't be a fairy like her. He had only been eight at that time.

Natsu scratched the back of his head. "Nah, don't worry about it."

"And I'm sorry you had to see…" she gestured to the dead man, lying face down in the grass, the stake from before lying bloodied beside him. "I usually don't… kill. I just drink and leave… but I haven't… fed in a few days."

"Eh… it's alright," he replied awkwardly. He had only met a vampire a few times, which usually ended pretty bad - mostly due to the fact that his family hated vampires.

Looking away, trying to make the awkward silence seem natural - clearly failing - his eyes widened. The sun was slowly rising from the horizon. The girl seemed to notice too as she searched around to find something to hide herself with.

The first beams of sun hit the girl, making her flinch. She tried to push herself further away, but it didn't matter. The sun's beams were faster than her. What had just been a light touch of the sun soon turned into a fire against the vampire's skin. Bubbling and oozing burns appeared on her arms and soon she began screaming as she pushed herself away.

Quickly diving into his pouch, Natsu found the jacket he had worn the day before as he wandered to the cave. He hastily began covering the girl, the help she seemed to appreciate greatly.

"We need to get you out of here," Natsu muttered, tugging at the girl. "And fast."

She nodded, standing up and simply followed him as he pulled her with him.

The burns on her arms and shoulders seemed to begin to heal, yet her ankles and feet were still getting burned, but she seemed not to care that much as she was actually getting dragged to safety.

"I'm Natsu, by the way," he said, not looking back at her. "Natsu Dragneel. I'm from Fairy Tail."

She seemed to stifle a giggle.

"What's so funny… uh?"

"Lucy," she replied, pulling his jacket further around her body, hiding her face so she wouldn't have to deal with burns in the face of all places. "Just Lucy. And for a moment, I thought you said Fairy _Tail_. Not tale. Sounds the same." She let out a breathy laugh before adding, "I haven't even met a fairy and I don't think they have tails."

Natsu snorted. "Well, _just Lucy_ … Ya heard right. Fairy _Tail_. It's a guild for monsters and other cool creatures, who don't have place to be." He quickly added, "And we have a few fairies, and I can assure ya that they don't have tails. In fact, they'd probably get mad if ya asked if they have one."

Almost stumbling through the tall grass, Lucy muttered, "Fairy Tail…"

Looking back at the girl, her brown eyes, which had once been completely black, now seemed to be full of loneliness. Either that, or enviousness, which could lead back to loneliness. Maybe she didn't have anyone to return home to.

"You live far from here?" Natsu tested the waters, not wanting to push her too hard.

Lucy shrugged. "I mean… I just live where the sun isn't burning me. There should be a town not too far from here. I'll probably find a hotel there or something."

"I think you mean Magnolia," he said, stepping up on the gravel road, extending a hand for her. She took it with gratitude as she, stepping up on the road as well. "That's where Fairy Tail is! Let me take ya there!" Natsu offered with a wide grin. They never had a vampire in their guild, and he didn't really know what to do with her hunger needs, but they'd probably make do. "No one should be alone. And you seem nice, so I'm sure you'll fit right in!" He finished with a grin in which she just chuckled at.

Stopping under a tree for shadow, Lucy sat down against it, rubbing her sore ankles. Natsu looked down at her. She didn't seem like she was much younger than him, but she was immortal, so she could be thousands of years old for all he knew.

"You are saying that to that monster, who you just saw kill someone," she pointed out, smiling sadly as she pulled her legs up to her chest. "Besides, you just met me."

Natsu shook his head a her first statement. "Didn't you hear what I was sayin'? Fairy Tail is a place for monsters and other creatures. Take me for example. I turn into a freaking wolf every full moon, and if I'm not retained, I'll kill people as well."

Lucy nodded slightly, looking away from him.

"Plus, you told me that ya don't usually kill people," he added, smiling at her even though she probably didn't see it. "That makes you nice!" _I think…_ "You're just doing what ya can to survive!"

Looking up with a small smile, Lucy nodded. "Thanks, Natsu," there was skepticism in her voice. "But sure. I'd love to go," she seemed nervous, but Natsu figured it was just about meeting new people.

Natsu beamed. "Then what are we waitin' for?"

Lucy chuckled. "My ankles to heal."

"Oh right," Natsu remembered, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. "Wish I had more to help, but… I'd rather not walk back pant-less." He wiggled his leg, his loose pants jiggling by the movement.

Lucy laughed. "I think I'll accept that reasoning."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woohooo! Chapter one! I have a few more chapters written down, that I need to have someone beta for me, but in the mean time, please leave a review to tell me what you thought of this first chapter!
> 
> Keep in mind that my first language is Danish, so if there's anything wrong with the wording or the way I phrase things, please let me know!
> 
> All kinds of reviews are welcome!
> 
> Till next time!
> 
> /Sofie


	2. Love me, hate me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter!
> 
> Thank you to one of my best friends, Cai (excaive on tumblr) for betaing this chapter. love u uwu lol
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Walking in the shadowy side of the street, Lucy walked close to Natsu. They were walking through a town called Magnolia. The streets were rather empty, besides a few people here and there, since it was so early in the morning.

The carefree nature of Natsu intimidated Lucy. His hands behind his head, he was humming something unintelligible. It was calming though, however, she couldn't shake her paranoia off. What if he was actually taking her to the police because vampires kill? And she was a vampire, and she just killed, so there was that.

Yet something about him made her feel safe. He had seemed so empathetic when he offered to take her to Fairy Tail. Nothing bad could come from that, but she kept her guard up. Maybe it was just from her heightened senses. Maybe she was just paranoid.

Probably just paranoid.

She was snapped out of her thoughts as two girls walked down empty streets, arms locked together. Veins were pumping with blood behind their skin. Lucy held her breath as they walked by, however, she accidentally inhaled as she did so. Their scent was now edged into her nose, taunting her thirst. The familiar burning sensation erupted like fire in her throat as she fought the urge to turn around and feed.

"You okay, Luigi?" Natsu asked placing his hand on her shoulder as they continued to walk.

"Huh?" she looked up at Natsu, revealing her two coal-black eyes. "Luigi?! My name is Lucy!"

Holding up his hands in defense, he rolled his eyes. "Jeez, alright. Calm down," he muttered, shoving his hands into his pockets. Looking back at her, he added, "You hungry again? Didn't you just eat?"

"Not how it works," Lucy sighed, digging her nails into her skin. The mild pain distracted her for a while. "I'm basically a blood junkie. Like… imagine if you hadn't drunken water in months - if that was even possible - and someone places a big glass of cold water in front of you. You don't just _not_ take the water. That's how it's like for me all the time. The urge never stops, I guess."

"What about me? How come ya haven't chucked all my awesome and probably delicious werewolf blood yet?"

Lucy snorted, letting a small smile creep onto her lips. "Well, I can tell you from a vampire's perspective that your blood is probably equivalent to spoiled milk mixed with puke. No offence, though."

"Uhh, offence taken!" he defended dramatically, crossing his arms. "So my blood is basically useless to you?"

She laughed shortly. "I mean, I'd probably get the same temporary 'satisfaction' from it, but it'd be hell to drink."

Nodding, he turned his head, a thoughtful expression showing on his face

"If it makes you feel any better, you made me lose my appetite," she tried, smirking under the hood of his jacket.

"Jeez, _thanks_!" he mocked, although a small breathy laugh escaped his lips afterwards.

"It's not very desirable to be vampire food, you know," she added.

In reality, most people hated vampires. It wasn't a thing that was passed on from parents to children, or some kind of brainwash they were taught in school. An invincible, extremely strong, and bloodthirsty being was not something that people wanted to meet.

That's why the government had put an indirect ban on vampires. It wasn't really a ban on vampires specifically, but if a vampire was caught drinking _any_ kind of blood - their only source of life - they were to be executed. So basically, a ban on vampires.

They walked in silence for a while. It wasn't really awkward, but none of them really knew what to say, so they just had a mutual understanding that silence was best for now.

It was around six in the morning, and the sun was slowly rising, stealing away Lucy's precious shadowy path. However, she didn't have to worry too much as Natsu stopped her with his arm.

"We're here!" he announced, gesturing proudly with both of his arms to a giant building.

The building's size itself stood out compared to the rest of the town's buildings, however, the beautiful design of the tall building outshone the regularly looking town by a million times. Different colored windows covered the whole building, and a big bell hung over the roof. Over the tall doors, the same logo that Natsu wore on his shoulder hung from a large flag, proudly presenting Fairy Tail.

From inside the guild voices of all volumes could be heard many streets away. They sounded quite… rowdy. They sounded lively. Already Lucy could tell that this wasn't that bad of an idea.

For a few moments she just stood in front of the giant building, taking in what would probably be a big part of her life. That was, until Natsu spoke up.

"So… wanna go inside or you just wanna stand here in the _nice_ and _warm_ sun?"

"Are you trying to get me to feed on you, or what is it?" it had been meant as a rhetorical question, but Natsu answered it.

"I mean… have ya ever tried werewolf blood? It can't be that bad…"

"I think I'll pass," Lucy rejected with a smile, making Natsu pout. Sighing, she shook her head. "Jeez, come on, the sun is actually going to burn me if we stay out here."

And with that, Natsu pushed the doors open and they walked inside. Inside they were met by a bar styled room. People were drinking, eating, laughing, and fighting. All kinds of humanoid creatures walked around in the room, breaking all kinds of unset rules.

Ogres were talking to elves like they were the bestest of friends.

A siren and a mermaid were swimming around a large tank in the back of the room, not caring that the one was supposed to be evil, while the other one was supposed to good.

A nymph was having a drink with a goblin-like creature even though the one was supposed to be giving and the other one greedy.

A little witch with blue hair was talking to two other creatures, even though she was supposed to a loner.

Everything was upside down from what Lucy had learned in school. She liked it. A lot.

Despite being hated by humans, these creatures seemed so lively and happy. Some were fighting for 'good fun', while others were drinking – ignoring the fact it was morning – and talking. Hell, there were even some children running around, their parents watching them with smiles.

But then the forever inconvenient sound hit her. Their pulses played like music in her ears, and then she remembered that any blood (except werewolf blood) was good blood. Drinkable blood. Satisfying substances. Two-legged (and sometimes even four-legged) blood bags walked around in the room, not knowing that a predator had entered.

And then she slapped herself, snapping herself out of her murderous thoughts.

"Did ya just slap yourself?" Natsu asked as he creeped up behind her. Raising his eyebrow, he shook his head. "You are such a weirdo."

All the past hunger she had built up inside of her turned into annoyance. "I'm not weird! You're the weirdo for helping a vampire you have known for a less than a few hours."

Taking off his jacket, as the door behind her had been closed, she gave it to Natsu again.

Natsu pouted. "Well, if I recall correctly, you are a pretty nice vampire, so that makes me the not-weird person here."

Brushing off the sentiment, Lucy sighed. "Well, if I don't deserve the not-so-much-of-an-evil-bloodsucker-as-I-could've-been-award, then I don't who does."

Laughing, Natsu placed his hand on Lucy's back, leading her towards the bar. "C'mon. I'll introduce ya to Mira. She'll help get you into Fairy Tail."

Nodding, Lucy felt herself getting pushed towards the almost empty bar where a beautiful woman stood. She had long white hair with flowers braided into. Her red dress reached the floor, and on her back, a pair of beautiful wings were folded down. They were white and glittery and were peacefully swaying against her back as she moved.

Currently Mira was serving what seemed to be a gorgon. She had normal light brown hair, but as she brushed it out of her face, a bundle of snakes seemed to appear at her head's lower part. As she received her drink she quickly walked away, seeming to want to be left alone.

Lucy's focus turned back to Mira, who was waving sweetly at the gorgon. Mira's scent was amazing. So sweet. Was she a goddess? Lucy felt her eyes tightening, meaning that they were turning black.

Stopping, Lucy turned around, trying to push herself past the werewolf. Natsu looked down at her, stopping in his tracks as well. Taking in a deep breath, through the mouth, Lucy tried to relax her shoulders, but the tenseness was too much. The sweet aroma of blood from all kinds of creatures reached her nose, and she dug her nails into the palm of her hand, _praying_ to someone that her fangs wouldn't appear.

"Lucy," Lucy looked up, meeting Natsu's worried expression. Lightly tapping her under eye area, she hoped that would make the black eyes disappear, but it didn't help.

"Lucy, take a whiff of me," Natsu gently demanded, positioning his head so his neck was exposed.

Lucy raised her eyebrow. "What?! Is that some kind of wolf thing?"

Natsu shook his head. "No. You said that my scent makes you lose your appetite. I'll be your anker. Just take a whiff, willya?"

Rolling her shoulders a few times, she placed her hand on Natsu's forearm, and tiptoeing to reach the height of his neck. And then she took a whiff.

She hated it. It was awful! The scent was like wet dog intensified a thousand times, mixed with mold, mud and metal. Nothing like the blood of… literally anyone else. If her body hadn't already absorbed all the blood she drank before, she probably would have thrown up by now.

Stepping a few steps back, she gagged slightly, pulling her dirty, white t-shirt over her nose. She hadn't been that close to him before. All the thoughts of the delicious blood in the room had vanished. This scent was going to be burnt into her nose for a while.

Throwing his head back, Natsu laughed loudly. "You should've seen ya face, Luigi! Priceless, just priceless!"

Before she could even react to that sentence, a voice jumped in.

"Oh, Natsu, be nice to that poor girl," the voice belonged to the beautiful lady in the bar. She rested her elbows on the counter, her head in her hands. "Whatever you did to her, you should apologize."

"Oi, I helped her, Mira!" Natsu defended, walking towards the bar with Lucy behind him.

"I really doubt that, Natsu," Mira said with a stern, motherly voice. Turning her head to Lucy, she put on the most beautiful smile she had ever seen. "Hello, I'm Mira! Nice to meet you!"

As Mira extended her hand towards her, Lucy sucked in a sharp breath through her mouth, before shaking it. Through Mira's palm she felt a pulse, but ignored it the best that she could. She still had Natsu's scent stuck in her nose, so that helped greatly, together with the fact that she only breathed through her mouth.

Cracking a small smile, she nodded at the beautiful woman. "I'm Lucy. Not Luigi - thanks Natsu, by the way-"

"No problem!" Natsu beamed, resting his arm on Lucy's shoulder, before receiving an elbow to the side.

"-and it's nice to meet you too," Lucy finished, letting go of Mira's hand, retreating it to the safety of her pocket.

"Gosh, honey, your hands are cold," Mira stated, tilting her head slightly as she thought. "Let me bring you some coffee. On the house. I reckon you want to be a member?"

Nodding, Lucy said, "Yeah, that's what I was hoping, but you really don't need to bring me any coffee."

Shaking her head, Mira began brewing coffee in the kitchen counter behind her. "Nonsense," she smiled back at Lucy. "You need something to warm you up. I'll just get a mug in the back. You want anything, Natsu?"

"Eggs and bacon," he responded with no hesitation, sitting down on a bar stool, signaling for Lucy to do the same, which she then did. "Put it on my tab!"

And with that, Mira trotted out back behind the bar area.

"Should I tell her that my hands are cold because I'm dead?" Lucy whispered to Natsu, shaking her legs in anxiety.

"You're dead?!" Natsu loudly whispered in disbelief.

"I'm a vampire, idiot," she rolled her eyes. "You have to die to become one."

"Oooh, right," Natsu realized, looking at the fang marks on her neck. She quickly covered it with her hair self-consciously. "That slipped my mind," he laughed. "But just tell her when she asks what creature you are. No one judges you here. At least not without getting in trouble with me!"

If Lucy had had a pulse, she would have blushed. That boy had known her for a few hours, yet he acted like they were best friends. She liked that. She hadn't felt kindness like this in a long time.

Trotting back into the bar area, Mira carried a plate of steaming hot eggs and bacon, together with some mini-sausages and diced fruit. Lucy doubted he would eat the fruit. Putting down the plate in front of Natsu; who immediately poured half a bottle of hot sauce on his meal; she went to pour Lucy's coffee before setting it in front of her.

"That was fast," Lucy murmured, gazing at Natsu's food, which he was hastily devouring. Encircling the hot mug, she stuck to just warming her hands on it for now.

"Well, a perk of being a fairy is that magic is a fast cooker," she winked at Lucy. So _she_ was one of the fairies Natsu had told her about. From under the counter, Mira pulled out a clipboard with a templated piece of paper on. "Since our master isn't home right now, I'm just going fill in the basics. Then you can have a chat with him later."

"Where's gramps?" Natsu asked, food in his mouth.

"Council meeting. The vampire guild, Phantom Lord, attacked a city full of civilians a week ago. Very sad," Mira said, searching for a pen by the counter as Lucy shot Natsu a nervous glance.

"Ah, there it is!" Mira exclaimed, pulling out a pencil, and settling herself in front of Lucy. "So… name is Lucy… uh?"

"Can you please just write 'Lucy H.'?" Lucy asked. She knew, from being in various cities, that the news of the tragic deaths of the Heartfilias and their missing daughter had spread. She didn't have the energy to deal with those feelings right now.

"Of course, hun," Mira smiled, writing down an 'H' with pretty cursive letters behind her name. "Alright, next is age, origin and species."

Nodding, Lucy sucked in yet another breath. "I'm 18, I used to live in Crocus, and I'm a…" It was as if she didn't know the word. Her mouth didn't allow her to speak it. Her kind was basically banned. She didn't want to cause this lovely place trouble. Why was she even here? Was it a trap?

From the corner of her eye, she could see Natsu nodding encouragingly, still stuffing his face with bacon.

Sighing, Lucy finally said, "And I'm a vampire."

For a moment, Mira's eyes widened, scanning the girl, her eyes immediately landing on the not so discrete fang-marks on her neck. Lucy was nervously pulling the strings of the side of her overalls, waiting in anticipation for the fairy's response.

"Oh, right," Mira murmured, scribbling down her answers, dragging out the 'e' in vampire with the pencil.

"I'm sorry," was all Lucy could think of saying. Lowering her head, she remembered the man she had killed that day. That was because of vampirism. Then she remembered what Mira had said about the vampire guild, Phantom Lord, whoever that was. That was because of vampirism. Her kind brought nothing but death and destruction their way. How was she any different?

"Eh? What are you apologizing for, Lucy?" Natsu asked, putting down his utensils as he raised his brows.

Truly, she didn't know. For being a vampire? For not having killed herself yet and ridden the world of yet another monster? Those things were too melodramatic, but that was all she could think of right now.

"You have nothing to be sorry about, Lucy," the fairy smiled, putting her hand on Lucy's shoulder. Even though Mira knew that Lucy was a bloodthirsty vampire, she still dared to touch her. "I'm sorry I reacted the way I did. I just remembered what I said about Phantom Lord. I didn't mean to put your kind down."

'Her kind'. She didn't want to be affiliated with 'her kind'. "N-no, it's alright! I don't even know any other vampires… and I was just scared that I would get you guys in trouble."

"Don't you worry, dear," Mira reassured her. "All we have to figure is the food situation. We can't have anyone die in Magnolia. That's our responsibility."

"Nophin' to worre abou', Mira," Natsu proclaimed, his mouth full of food. "Lushe gon't even likhe killin'."

"Natsu, close your mouth when you eat," Mira scolded, but with a small smile. "Well, I don't think anyone likes killing, but I'm just worried about your urges and such. Although, I couldn't imagine you being a danger."

Letting out a nervous chuckle, Lucy thanked the fairy.

Wiping his mouth, and pushing his empty plate towards Mira, Natsu added, "Plus, I make her lose her appetite. Apparently I smell like shit to vampires."

"It's not only to vampires, Flamebrain," someone behind her added. Spinning around on her stool, Lucy was met by a boy, around her age, wearing _nothing_. He had raven-black hair, and the Fairy Tail logo on his chest. He was rather hairy – everywhere – but seemed to have _attempted_ to shave everything.

Suddenly Natsu's eyes were flaming. "What'd you say to me, Icicle?"

"Why is he naked?" Lucy squeaked, covering her eyes. She wasn't really an expert on supernatural creatures, but from what she had seen – and sensed – 'Icicle' seemed to be an ice creature. Probably a cross between a yeti and a human (or humanoid creature). Coldness was radiating from him.

"Naked?" 'Icicle' looked down, realizing that he was in fact completely butt naked. Natsu laughed hysterically as the boy frantically was searching for his close, muttering about the claim that he 'had had it right before'.

Soon, the whole guild was rowdy. People were yelling at Gray to put on his clothes, because 'it was too early in the morning for this'. Others, especially the female creatures, were whistling and squealing as the naked man frantically searched for the lost clothes, covering his groin-area.

"Juvia's Gray is hinting that he wants Juvia!" a girl with blue hair and blue scales up her face exclaimed, blushing. She seemed to be the mermaid who had been swimming with the siren. She was just in her human form now.

"J-Juvia that isn't it! I just can't find my clothes!" Gray insisted, shying away from the lovesick girl, who had begun chasing him.

That went on for a few minutes before Gray finally was handed his clothes by an angry-looking woman with scarlet hair. She scolded him as he redressed, where he soon after was bowing down before her, clearly apologizing.

Finally back in clothes, Gray walked back to the duo, the scarlet haired woman right behind him. His one hand deep in the pocket, he drew the other one through his spiky hair.

"Sorry about that," he coughed in embarrassment has sat down on the stool besides Lucy. His blood smelled nice. She had to focus with all her might on Natsu's scent that was slowly disappearing from her nose. "I'm Gray." He extended his hand towards her.

Hesitantly, she shook his hand. "Lucy."

The scarlet haired woman, settled down by the corner of the bar, extending her hand towards Lucy as well. "My name is Erza. Pleasure to meet you."

It was first now that Erza was so close to her that Lucy could see how truly beautiful she was. Besides her scarlet hair, she had a beautifully shaped face, completely flawless. Her dark eyes were firm looking, yet kindness in her calm expression could be found as well. She wore the top part of an armor, but only a skirt as the bottom part.

From the eye of the beholder, she looked like a human, but Lucy could smell that she was anything but that. She just couldn't put her finger on what. Her blood, however, smelled fresh and sweet.

"P-pleasure to meet you as well," Lucy replied, intimidated yet intrigued by the woman in front of her.

"Tea, Erza?" Mira asked sweetly, already holding a cup of hot tea in her hands.

Nodding, Erza took the cup, silently sipping it.

"So why were we talking about vampires?" Gray asked, the question directed towards Natsu.

"Lucy doesn't think my blood smells good!" Natsu declared, crossing his arms and pouting. Lucy whacked his arm playfully, but her vampire strength probably made it hurt a lot more than she intended to.

Gray's eyebrows furrowed, his eyes locking themselves onto Lucy. "This Lucy? She's a vampire?"

Lucy didn't like this. Not one bit. She was a killer. A murderer. Of course Gray would assume that as well. Erza didn't seem flinch one bit, but she kept her eyes locked on Gray.

Mira, who came trotting out from behind the bar, joined in. In her hand, she had an iced coffee, which she placed before Gray. "Yup! And she's going to join the guild."

"Are you sure that's a good idea, Mira?" he asked, not touching his drink as his eyes were still locked on Lucy. Those eyes weren't filled with fascination or confusion. They were poisonous.

"Gray!" Erza exclaimed, whacking his shoulder, her face contracting in anger.

Quickly, a fist flew past Lucy's face, hitting Gray's cheek with a loud 'thud'. Mira gasped, stepping back a few steps, while other creatures around them seemed to notice the sudden change of mood as well. Lucy, on the other hand, hadn't moved her head due to the shock.

"Hey, douchebag, she's sitting right beside you," Natsu growled, his eyebrows furrowed as he lowered his fist.

It seemed as if Erza was about to scold Natsu for punching Gray, however, she sat back in her chair instead, nodding in agreement. Her arms were crossed and looked disappointedly at Gray.

Ignoring Erza's disappointment, Gray seemed to brush off the sudden punch. "You're the werewolf here. Aren't the two of you supposed to be arch nemeses?"

"Says what rules?"

"The unwritten ones, you dumbass," Gray grumbled, grabbing his iced coffee as he stood up. "Listen, I'm not saying she's not welcome. I'm just saying… Mira, talk this over with gramps, alright?"

Mira huffed, turning her head from him. "You are being very rude, Gray."

And with that, Gray walked off, muttering, "Whatever."

Staring into her palms, Lucy felt speechless. How was she supposed to react to this? How would her human-self have reacted to meeting a vampire? She felt unwelcome here, despite what Gray had told her. He probably didn't mean to be rude, and she couldn't help but forgive him instantly. She was the monster here. He had mortal blood pumping through his veins, he was alive, he was better than her. Maybe she had made a mistake by coming here.

"Hey," snapping her out of her thoughts, she looked up at Natsu, whose eyes were filled with worry. "You alright?"

Sucking in a deep breath through her mouth, Lucy shrugged. "I'd probably leave if it wasn't because of the fact that I would burn up." She let out a dark and bitter chuckle as she was reminded of the eternal curse she had to live.

Frowning, Mira walked around the counter and embraced the sitting vampire. For a moment, she was tense, not wanting to catch the smell of the beautiful fairy, but soon after, she decided just to sink into the hug, accepting the pain in her throat.

"Listen, Gray was just being flat out rude," Mira murmured, releasing Lucy. "Nothing that you could help. I'll have master have a talk with him."

"I have never seen him act like that towards a new face," Erza muttered, her head resting in her hands. "I will have to have a serious talk with him as well."

Nodding, Natsu made ninja symbols with his hands. "And didn't I tell you that people would get in trouble with me if they judged ya?"

Giggling, Lucy nodded slowly. "I guess you're right."

This place was lovely, despite that experience. Weird, but lovely.

Walking back into the bar, Mira scanned the paper from before, smiling as she tapped the clipboard against the counter. "That's all I need for now. You'll take the rest with master when he comes back. For now, where do you want your guild mark and what color?"

Thinking for a second, Lucy smiled at Mira. "My right hand and ehm… pink?"

Nodding, Mira pulled out a stamping device. "Can do! Your hand?"

Extending the back of her right hand towards Mira, the fairy took it, examining it before placing down the stamp. As the stamper was removed, the Fairy Tail logo shone brightly on her hand.

"Welcome to Fairy Tail, Lucy," Erza welcomed, a warm smile on her lips.

"Hell yeah!" Natsu exclaimed, throwing his fist into the air.

A sudden warmth spread in Lucy's chest. For the past month she had been living in hiding, dealing with her emotions and new physique. Now, she officially had a new place to call home.

Letting a small smile creep onto her lips, Lucy whispered, "Thank you."

Her eyes were locked on the brightly colored guild mark on her hand.

She was going to be okay.

"One last issue," Erza spoke up, catching the attention of the blonde. "Have you thought about where you're living?"

_Crap_. That thing had completely slipped her mind. She had gotten so used to moving around from day to day, that living in a permanent place seemed out of the picture.

Mira placed her finger on her chin. "The girls usually stay at Fairy Hills at the girl's dorm, but I'm pretty sure we're filled up. Natsu do you think you can take her apartment hunting?"

Nodding eagerly, Natsu jumped from his stool, extending his arm towards Lucy. "Sure! Come on, Luce! Let's find ya a place to live!"

Luce? The guy had known her for less than a few hours and he already had a nickname for her. He was definitely crazy.

"That would be nice, but-" she gestured to her bare arms and face. "I will burn up."

Thinking for a moment, Mira gasped as she got an supposed idea, catching the attention of the trio. Leaving the bar, Mira unfolded her wings and flew towards the building's second floor.

"There are stairs, ya know!" Natsu yelled after her, in which her response was sticking her tongue out at him. Erza chuckled, taking a sip of her tea.

"Show off…" he muttered, making Lucy giggle.

Moments later, the fairy gracefully made her way down the stairs, barely touching the steps. In her arms she had something that looked like a big clump of fabric.

As she entered the bar area again, she held out the big fabric, which unfolded to be a big, purple cloak. The hooded cloak was long, probably long enough to cover Lucy entirely.

"Ta-da!" Mira beamed, holding the cloak towards the vampire. "I knew we had one in master's office. I think it'll make you look even cuter!"

"Th-thank you!" Lucy stuttered, flustered by the compliment. Taking the cloak from the Fairy, she studied it a bit before standing up. As she put on the cloak and closed it, she felt a sensation of safety roam over her.

"Yush! Let's go on an adventure, Luce!" Natsu beamed.

"I hardly think apartment hunting is an- WOW!" being dragged away mid-sentence, Natsu and Lucy made their way out of the guild, ready to find a place to begin Lucy's new life.

Little did they know, Mira was already planning their wedding in her head. Erza barely held back a smile at Mira's excitement.

* * *

Finding the perfect apartment was… challenging to say the least.

Firstly, the wrong movement under her cape and Lucy's face would be burned off.

Secondly, despite the bright appearance of Lucy's cape, it still drew unwanted attention to her.

Thirdly, the apartment complex should be very small with very little amount of people in. Less people would make it less tempting to feed, right?

And fourthly, the apartment had to allow personal renovation. After contemplating her whole situation, both Natsu and Lucy agreed that installing UV-blocking windows would be for the best so - you know - she wouldn't burst into flames every morning.

And after hours upon hours of searching, hiding in the shadows, and feeding Natsu's inhuman appetite, they found the perfect apartment.

The rent was cheap, - around 70.000 Jewels a month - personal customization was allowed, and there was only one other person in the apartment - her landlord! It seemed too good to be true, but after Natsu had sniffed the whole apartment through - much to Lucy's embarrassment in front of the landlord - he declared that it was all good.

The landlord was an elderly lady - who had definitely seen better days - and she seemed okay with Lucy just moving in on the spot with the promise that she wasn't going to be too loud.

Natsu seemed just as excited about the idea of her moving in as she did, and only Lucy kicking him out made him remember that it was her apartment - not his.

Ten o' clock at night, Lucy had finally settled in in her small apartment with the little amount of stuff she had. The landlord had been kind and let her borrow a foldable bed, a small table and chair temporarily.

After finishing her nightly routine, she sat down by her table and began to write a letter to her mom. For the past month, she had gotten into the habit of writing a short letter to her beloved mother. Her father, on the other hand, hadn't been so lucky to receive a letter. It wasn't that she hadn't loved him, no; the two of them just never had had the best relationship, seeing as he was always working and never spending time with her.

_Dear Mama_

_So, I enrolled in Fairy Tail today… it's kind of weird to write that since… you know, it's a place for ghouls and creature alike. I never thought I'd be one of them, yet here I am. And the best part is that I don't feel so alone around them. I feel like I'm home. The people I have met are really nice - except some yeti, who doesn't like vampires. Who blames him? I am a monster._

_For the past month, I have been hating myself for being a vampire. A vampire killed you and papa, and I hate that I am one of them, but it can't be helped. I just miss you and everyone so much._

_I miss Loke - even him being really gross and flirty and weird. I hope Aries and the baby made it out alive. I know it's just hopeful thinking, but I can stand thinking negatively._

_I miss Aquarius yelling at me for being a brat. I miss Taurus and Cancer always wanting to protect me (or my "hot body"? Who knows…) I miss everyone else from The Zodiacs._

_I miss Ms. Spetto's cooking._

_And most of all…_

_I miss you and papa. You have no idea how much I want to be with you guys. But who knows? Maybe I'll be with you soon if this Fairy Tail thing doesn't work out?_

_That's too many depressing things for one night._

_I love you guys._

_Yours_

_Lucy_

_Ps. Mama! I have decided that I'm not going to feed anymore! I once read in school, that some vampires survived_ _**months** _ _without feeding! Maybe I can do the same?_

Looking down on the neatly written letter, she felt her cheeks being embraced by a stream of warm tears. Cursing under her breath, she quickly wiped them away as she put the letter in a small envelope and adding it to her letter-box.

Truly, the last line had been a challenge to write. The thought of giving up blood already hurt in her throat like small droplets of magma burning her insides. However, after today, she was determined not to feed.

She was going to succeed.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you thought! c:
> 
> /Sofie


	3. Conversation starters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back!
> 
> Sorry for the wait - I have been dealing with some stuff, but I'm okay again!
> 
> Enjoy this chapter!
> 
> Trigger warning: Mentions of suicide (nothing major, graphic or anything. Just a mention)

 

There was no way in _hell_ that she was going to succeed. The first thing she felt in the morning was a never-ending thirst like nothing else. It was as if her nose could catch on to the scent of every person who had ever lived here. She was on her day one of not feeding, and she was already feeling miserable.

_So much for not hurting anyone…_

Hiding under her blankets, she peeked out to see her room covered by sunlight. This was a literal game of 'The Floor is Lava!'.

Like a turtle, she began crawling to the bathroom, her blanket being her savior as it shielded her from the sunlight. She seriously needed to get those UV-blocking windows installed.

The morning went smoothly despite the burning sensation in her throat. Covering the blurry windows in her bathroom with her blanket, she could finally walk around freely. Taking a relaxing, hot bath calmed her thirst for a while, until she got out of the tub.

 _Mental note,_ she thought. _Make list about things that will distract hunger._

As she dried herself off, she caught a peek of her naked body in the mirror. She walked towards the mirror, drying her hair with the towel. The vampire-mirror myth was fake, she had found out after a few days of vampirism. For her, that was a relief. Doing her makeup or hair with no mirror would have been hell.

As she wrapped her towel around her damp hair, her eyes fell onto the fang marks on her neck. Running a hand across it, she could feel two small bumps where the individual fang marks were. She really didn't want to have that scar forever, but as it hadn't faded one bit for the past month, she figured she was stuck with it. Not only was it very eye-catching, but it also brought up a lot of unwanted memories.

Every time she caught a glimpse of it, the night of her own 'death' flashed in her head. It wasn't getting better. The memory seemed to refresh itself every day, never getting easier to think of. It was like vinyl stuck on repeat, only remembering two parts of the 'song'. Her family's death and her own transformation.

She used to take pride in her appearance. The way she could pamper herself at the estate, smothering herself in different oils, trying to keep her youthful look as her mother did. There really wasn't any need for that now.

Cursing under her breath, she took a last peak on the scar. It had 'faded' into two dark red dots, bulging from under skin. There were reminders of what happened and her eternal curse. How everyone she would ever come to love would grow older and she would be stuck like this. Stuck like a never-ending murder machine.

She felt tears prickling in her eyes, but she didn't bother stopping them. Her eyes were locked on the mark. She hadn't actually looked at the scar very much. It was _hideous_. Despite being only two dots, it held so much more meaning, causing it to be hideous in her eyes.

Opening her mouth, she wanted to scream, but all that left her lips was a choked sob. She punched the tiled bathroom wall, vibrations being send through her body. The wall didn't break – and thank the Gods for that – but a human hand would have been broken.

Her tears were flowing freely. She wanted her mom. She wanted the pain to stop. She wanted her peaceful human life back.

Her fist still on the wall, she slowly lowered her arm, making eye contact with herself in the mirror. Despite sleeping fairly well, she look exhausted. Dreams of blood, death, and murder plagued her dreams, but it was nothing she could help.

She was in her _newborn_ phase anyways.

" _So, Miss Heartfilia," her teacher started strictly. She was an elderly lady, probably tired of teaching. Her gray hair was tied tightly behind her head, supporting a pair of slim glasses. They were in classroom A44, which was cramped as could be. Lucy, herself, had to keep her arms squashed to either side of her body. "Can you_ _ **please**_ _recite the different states of vampirism?"_

_Gulping slightly, she nodded. Looking down on her dark wooden desk, she opened her 'Anatomy of Ghouls' book, turning to page 353. 'Vampirism in states' it read, various illustrations of vampires either feeding, being burned by the sun, or hiding in alleyways. Not a single one of the illustrations had anything positive to show about vampires._

" _Oh, look at the braniac go," someone snickered from behind her. A con of being so squished together was the fact that she could hear_ _ **everything**_ _said about her. She wasn't the target of bullying per say, but she sure as hell wasn't that well liked. Mostly because of her intelligence. In her years before starting school, she was taught the basics in_ _ **every**_ _class. She was ahead of everyone in her class, which either led to people wanting to be her 'friend' because they just needed to pass that class, or people despising her for her intelligence._

" _Right, Mrs. Sopath," she complied politely, clearing her throat before looking up at her teacher. "The life of a vampire starts in the newborn phase. It's the first three months after being turned. Their strengths are incomparable to any creature, almost as great as their older vampires. Their hunger is out of control, meaning that they are more likely to go savage."_

_The people from before whispered something about her use of her language. This was just how she spoke. If it was textbook-like she didn't care._

_Rolling her shoulders, she continued, giving her teacher a real suck-up smile. "Their emotions are also heightened, meaning that any emotion will be intensified. This includes sadness and despair. This phase has also been renamed 'The Suicide Phase' because 60% of all newborns commits suicide."_

_Suicide was something that was often a topic in the 'Ghouls and Monsters' classes, seeing as monsters often had very hard lives. This class was, of course, for educational purposes, but Lucy had a theory that the government used this class as a way of stigmatize monsters. Kind of brainwash the kids into despising them._

" _Their emotions are all over the place, meaning that the smallest mistake they make can make them go crazy with guilt, sadness, or anger. This often ends with… them taking their own life."_

_The classroom went silent, everyone breathing as lowly as they could. It was no secret that vampires were hated, but despite the world being a very cruel place, a little empathy remained._

" _Precise, as always, miss Heartfilia," Mrs. Sopath praised, giving out one of her rare smiles. Lucy gave her small smile before quickly peaking at the next line in her book, reciting for herself to remember. Mrs. Sopath continued, "Okay, you can continue to the next phase."_

Snapping herself out of her thoughts, Lucy took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. Despite the tears still running down her cheeks, she was okay. She was getting better. She was not going to hurt anyone. It would be okay.

 _-ish_.

Small inconveniences _did_ bother her. Writing a word incorrectly in a letter to her mother could trigger her rage. Looking at her scar on her neck triggered unreasonable amounts of sadness and despair. Not being able to go into the sun triggered her sadness. Everything was too much, but she was trying.

She was still trying.

There was only two months left of her newborn phase, and then it should slowly start to get better. She hoped.

Unwrapping the towel from her hair, she hid her scar with her golden locks, feeling much more at ease with it being covered. She quickly moved on to the final parts of her routine, brushing her teeth, moisturizing, and putting on fresh clothes. She didn't actually need to moisturize since her body was immortal and didn't change, but she liked it. It was humane ritual, and she wanted to feel humane.

Giving herself a last glance in the mirror, she admired her outfit. She had bought another outfit in a neighbouring town for the little amount of jewels she had. The white top with blue detail hugged her torso tightly, matching the blue skirt. For some reason, she had had a thing for blue the day she bought it. Despite her hair still being wet, she tied a small lock of her hair up with a blue ribbon.

Putting on a pair of boots, so she wouldn't accidentally burn her feet, she grabbed her blanket again, and walked into her living room like a walking blanket-burrito.

In her rather empty living room, she was by her new werewolf friend. He was calmly sitting cross-legged on her borrowed chair, reading something by her desk. It was first after she tilted her head, confused of how he got into her room, she noticed what he was reading. Her novel… which had been in her backpack.

Quickly, while avoiding the sunlight and alarming him, she snatched her novel, hugging it close to her body. "DON'T READ THAT!" she yelled, sending him flying with a kick across the room.

Frantically, she shoved the loose papers into her back again, closing it tightly as she turned to him. It was clear that it wasn't only the backpack he had been looking through. The almost empty drawer, which had already been there when she moved in, was wide open, while her bed had two dirty shoe marks on it.

Propping himself to his legs again, Natsu rubbed his sore head. She hadn't kicked him _that_ hard, so she figured he was merely overreacting. "Jeez, Luigi, don't go attacking people like that."

"IT'S LUCY AND WHY ARE YOU IN MY HOUSE?"

"Ah, stop yelling, will ya! It's too early…" he whined, shielding his ears with his tan hands.

Scoffing, Lucy crossed her arms under her blanket. "Well, you did just break into my house, vandalizing my stuff. What did you expect?"

It wasn't like her to get angry, but the least he could do was to warn her? Then again, how the hell was he supposed to do that? She decided to give him the benefit of the doubt, but next time he had to announce his arrival, or else she'd kick him out. Like out-out. Not just across the room. That, she promised herself.

It didn't seem as if he had an answer as he just pouted and looked away. However, a moment later, Lucy's eyes fell onto something by the door. A stack of neatly wrapped glass. Windows?

"Wait what's that?" she asked, nodding her head toward the stack of glass.

He scratched the back of his head, gazing at the glass-plates he clearly knew what was. "Well, y'know… I don't want ya burning up in your own home. So I bought them for ya!"

Her mouth gaping, it all clicked in her head. The glass-plates were a little bronzy tinted, however, it was barely noticeable. The UV-windows!

She gazed back at Natsu, whose cheeks burned a deep color of pink. Lucy hadn't known him for very long, but what she had picked up on was the fact that he was a very caring person despite the fact that he clearly tried to brush it off.

"Natsu, this is…" she started, her mouth falling agape ones again. That was probably the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for her. For others, it might just have been windows, but for her, it was the freedom to walk around freely. There seemed to be the perfect amount to cover all of her windows. "This is so sweet. Thank you, but I really don't have any money to pay you back."

His blazing hot face quickly turned into an evilly grinning mess. "Oh, I know!" he snickered. "As a payment, you have to try werewolf blood someday!" he announced, still grinning evilly. _There's the catch.._. "With your reaction yesterday, I just hafta see it with my own eyes!"

"I have been tricked!" Lucy cried dramatically. Just the thought of werewolf blood seemed to trigger a gag, which she surpassed the best she could. "Alright," she sighed. " _Someday_." She put extra pressure on the 'someday', because one, werewolf blood. Two, she just decided not to feed anymore. At least not for a while.

"Alright, oh Great Natsu, anything else I can do to pay you back?"

He thought for a second, placing his finger on his chin. "Hmmm… Oh right! The three of us have to be a team! With your vampire strength and my cool fighting and werewolf instincts we will be invincible!"

Lucy face palmed. She was, however, grateful that he wanted to team up with her, but how did he even imagine her fighting in daylight? He probably hadn't even thought that through, but the other thing that worried Lucy was that she had no experience in fighting. Sure, she had her vampire senses, that could easily dodge an expected attack, but besides that she knew nothing.

And then she caught up to something. "Wait, us three?"

He nodded, beaming as he placed both of his hands on his hips. "Yeah, me, you, and Happy!"

As he saw the puzzled look on her face, he quickly spun around, looking both to the left and the right. Scratching his head, he hastily searching for something. Lucy watched in amusement as he frantically looked through her empty bedsheets, then her kitchen, and at last her bathroom.

"Happy? Where are ya buddy?" he called out, after sniffing her whole apartment through, much to her protest. It was weird to just sniff someone's apartment. "I swear he was here just a minute ago…"

And with that, he jumped through the open window, landing on his feet just under her apartment complex. As he began running his footsteps were hearable far away from her apartment.

"ARE YOU JUST GONNA LEAVE ME TO DO ALL THE WORK?!" she yelled after him as she sprinted to her window, trying not to get too close to the ever burning sunlight.

"SORRY, LUIGI!" she heard him yell over his shoulder.

"IT'S LUCY, YOU PRICK!" she yelled, but sighed as she realized it was no use. That boy was an idiot. Sighing, she walked to her drawer where the only thing laying there was the cape she got the day before. Putting it on, she tied it securely around her neck.

Not knowing where to start, seeing as she had no tools to install window, she decided to sit down and write for a bit. After Natsu's _very rude_ intrusion of her privacy, she remembered the novel she was working on. It wasn't anything big, but it really helped take her mind of… literally any thought that wasn't 100% positive. Sitting down on her chair, she pulled out the papers, and began writing. Just for the time being, as she was waiting for Natsu to come back with the said Happy.

Writing a few lines on the paper, she quickly fell into a writer's block. Iris, her main character, was not being written as smoothly and genuine as Lucy had hoped. She was just too… stiff. Too alien-pretending-to-be-human like, which was a problem since Iris was a human.

It wasn't like Lucy couldn't remember how humans acted. In fact, vampires and humans were very similar – if not completely the same except for a few key factors. One, being bloodlust and superior strength. Two, being aware of everything around you. In that way, they were very different. Despite having always been rather clumsy as a human, that trait had been completely eradicated when she transformed. She was aware of every upcoming bump and trap ahead of her. She could hear people miles away, if she really focused, as well as her great, yet inconvenient sense of smell. In that way, it did make sense that she wrote Iris very alien-like.

Sighing, she sat back tapping her paper with her pencil. Reading through her writing a few times, she erased a few mistakes, changed a few words, and decided that was what she was going to get done for now. Stretching, she felt her hunger burn into her throat. Swallowing thickly, she tried to think of things that could distract her, but she already felt her eyes growing black. She cursed as she tapped her fingertips against the table. All she could think of was blood.

That was, until she caught onto a familiar scent. The yeti-like creature, Gray, was in her apartment complex. Actually walking up the stairs to her apartment. Her eyes quickly went from two black orbs to her normal brown eyes.

Only a few seconds passed until he knocked on her door, opening it carefully. "Hey, Natsu, where'd you run off to?" he called, walking into her fairly empty apartment.

"Gray?" she questioned in shock, already having turned around on her chair so she could see him.

As he heard her voice, he quickly entered her apartment, carrying a box of tool in his arms, and his shirt nowhere to be found.

Just as shocked as she were, he almost gasped as he saw her. "Lucy? What the hell are you doing here?"

"I live here?" she replied, raising her one eyebrow.

For a moment he just gaped at her, before shaking his head. "That fuckin' idiot…"

"What?" she asked with a flat tone. Despite the fact that his hatred towards her was justifiable, she still felt as if she had to mirror his tone.

"He told me… that this was a job for an elderly lady, who couldn't install her new windows by herself," he explained, avoiding eye-contact with her. "Guess it was just your UV-protecting windows. But the 'elderly woman' part could be true."

"I'm not old!" she defended, almost giving into her anger. Sighing, she crossed her arms. "Ugh, never mind… you gonna help or not?"

"Whatever," he just replied, putting down his toolbox on her bed. He quickly went back to the door, lifting one of the bronzy tinted windows, setting it down beside her bed. Grabbing a screwdriver, he studied one of her windows furthest away from her.

Rolling her eyes, Lucy picked up another screwdriver, and began to unscrew the screw to the window furthest away from Gray. He, however, was way ahead of her, and grabbed his glass and walked into her kitchen to begin his work away from her.

For what seemed to be an eternity, they worked in silence. Lucy really didn't mind silence at all - she actually preferred it, despite how loud she could be. But with Gray in her house, she felt as if the least amount of noise she would make would be another reason to hate her.

Lucy had repeated at least a thousand times in her head, she didn't mind him hating her. He probably had various good reasons for that. Although she herself was a vampire, she really despised that species. When she was in school, she never really hated them. She had no reason to. Now, that a vampire had particularly ruined her life, she had plenty.

After a while, Gray seemed to have finished installing the windows in her kitchen, as he walked out into the living room and begun to work on the windows there.

"Listen, I'm sorry," she tried, tightening the cape around her neck further. "About yesterday."

"What _for_?" he spat, beginning the unscrewing process on the window on the other side of her room. His voice was cold and unfriendly, and again, she didn't blame him.

What for exactly? Being a vampire? Yes. Offending him? Yes. Existing? Yes.

"I guess… being me?" she laughed dryly as she popped out the regular glass of her window.

Gray, on the other hand, was not humored by her bad attempt of a joke - at all. He actually looked slightly more angry. Deciding to let it go, they continued their work in silence. Only the faint sound of the squeaking from the screws could be heard. None of them had anything to say to each other. Gray didn't like her, and Lucy had run out of things to say sorry about.

God, she wished Natsu would came back soon.

At Gray's end, he had successfully loosened the existing glass in Lucy's first window and was now installing the UV-protecting glass. He looked bitter as he did so. He was helping someone he hated. Someone who had probably caused him more pain that she knew of. He was helping her survive.

Before he put the window in place, he sat it down, breathing in deeply. "You know, _your_ kind just doesn't realize how _fucking_ damaging it is when you take someone away from _us_."

'Your' and 'us'. Two different things. Lucy wasn't a part of 'them', apparently, but that wasn't what angered her. A grim expression painted her face as she looked towards him. She was sure he couldn't see her face as she glared at him. Almost pettily she awaited his explanation.

"Excuse me?"

"You know," he sighed irritated as began to pick up the glass again. "When you kill our loved ones. You have no idea how much that hurts."

 _That_ was something she was not going to apologize for. For the past month, she had lived in hell on earth. Every single member of her family had been murdered by what she was today. An evil fucking vampire. And now, every time she looked herself in the mirror and saw that her fangs grew out, she couldn't help but to hate herself.

She knew the first year of being a newborn vampire was going to be rough. Every single text about vampires would mention the 'suicidal phase'. The phase where 60% of all newborn vampires would hate themselves so much that they would kill themselves.

Adding the trauma from losing everyone she loved on top of her newborn-ness did not match.

How dared he? How dared he assume anything about her? He had known her for less than a day, and yet he was acting like he knew her just because of her species.

"Ohh no, you are not saying that to me," her voice was trembling as she clenched her fists in anger. Her hood hid most of her face, only revealing her trembling lips. "You don't know _anything_ about me, so what right do you have to pretend you know _everything_ about me?"

It had been a rhetorical question, but Gray stopped in his tracks, shock painting his face as he gazed at her. "I- ehh-"

"No. Let me finish," she continued, looking up so he could see her angry eyes. "I can justify you hating me because I'm a vampire. I'm a grim monster, right? But you telling me I don't know what it feels like to lose someone to a vampire... is unjustifiable!"

"Do you think I _want_ to be like this?" she continued, her whole body shaking with both anger and sadness. "Has it crossed your mind that this-" she gestured to herself. "-happened to me against my will? I have been through hell and back for the last while, and you know what? I have to feed off of living creatures to survive, for crying out loud! This is just the start of my painful _fucking_ eternity."

He had completely avoided eye-contact with her the entire time. His fists clenched as well, but it was impossible to see if he was angry at her or not.

"So," she breathed out, unclenching her fists to calm herself. Wasting too much energy would mean more hunger. More hunger would mean more hatred towards her. "You can hate me all you want - trust me, I'm way ahead of you there. But your little talk about 'my kind' and how I know nothing about losing people can go right back into that little icy brain of yours, okay?"

A few moments passed where the two of them just having intense eye-contact. Lucy was waiting for Gray's reply, while Gray clearly looked for something to say.

Lucy's breathing seemed to ease out as she had left him speechless. He clearly hadn't thought about the fact that vampires actually had feelings. That they lost loved ones. That they _had_ loved ones. Well, Lucy didn't have any loved ones anymore. That was where this whole outburst came from.

"Alright," he murmured, turning to pick up the UV-glass ones again. As he turned gracefully, Lucy saw him mouth 'sorry'. He clearly didn't mean for her to see it - so she decided not to pick at it - but it made her feel… better. Sort of.

In silence, they kept on installing the windows.

It was weird, but despite the fact that she was hungry as _hell_ , Gray didn't bother her too much. Sure, she had had the occasional thoughts about ripping his head off and drinking his blood till there was nothing left, but it was nothing like with other people. Maybe it was because he would hate her even in death. Or maybe it was because she felt like they had something in common? Or maybe she just had an amazing willpower - which she doubted.

As they continued their mundane work, they gazed at the last remaining window in the living room.

"You know, I think Flame-brain just left so he didn't have to do any work," he breathed. It was still spoken in a flat tone, however, it had been the closest thing to 'friendliness' he had said to her since finding out she was a vampire.

Letting out a quiet laugh, not wanting to test the limits of the one-side ceasefire they had, she nodded. "I think you're right."

And speaking of the devil, Natsu quickly jumped through the last window, gracefully landing on his feet in the living room, startling the two of them. His one hand was suspiciously hidden under his vest. He looked rather proud of himself, a smug smile on his lips as he glanced at Gray.

"Idiot, you didn't know if there was glass in that one or not!" Lucy scolded, fearing for her new apartment. One thing was not having money to pay Natsu back, but paying her landlord for repairs that was Natsu's fault – which was bound to happen – was something completely different.

Natsu just shook his head, his smug smile turning into a grin. This boy sure was happy. "Werewolf sight, duh," he said proudly. "Jeez, Luce, we basically have the same powers. Get with the times!"

Lucy face-palmed, shaking her head. She could not believe this guy…

Seeing her reaction, he broke out in a big grin. From under his vest he pulled out a small, _blue_ creature, stretching as it was met by daylight.

"KITTY!" Lucy squealed, cupping her cheeks as she observed the small, blue cat in awe.

The cat was the definition of _adorable_. It's fur was blue like a clear sky, while its eyes were as dark as Lucy's eyes when she got hungry. On its back, two tiny dragon-like wings were unfolded.

"This is Happy!" Natsu proudly proclaimed, scratching Happy's head, which was appreciated with purring. "He's my best friend, and he's basically a dragon!"

And on cue, Happy sneezed, tiny flames shooting out of his mouth.

"Get that fire-breathing demon away from me!" Gray demanded, putting his hands up to protect himself against the 'terrifying' Happy.

"Aww, Ice-princess, afraid of a little Exceed, ain't ya?" Natsu snickered as he slowly moved Happy closer to Gray, who just moved further away.

"An Exceed?" Lucy questioned, tilting her head.

"Yeah!" Natsu nodded enthusiastically, seeming as if he had waited his whole life for her asking that. "It's a breed between a dragon and some kind of cat! Usually they're like… GIGANTIC! But Happy here," he patted the Exceeds head. "is only 1/8 dragon, so he's a cat size! Although it'd be cool if he was a dragon!"

Shaking her head, Lucy let out a breathy laugh. "I really don't want to imagine their breeding process…"

Natsu looked confused by her statement, but shrugged it off. "And he looooves, Icicle!"

Gray shook his head, and walked over to get his toolbox. "I'm done here. One strike is a damn FIRE BREATHING Exceed, the other is-" he cut himself off, gazing at Lucy. "Sorry, nothing. I'm goin' home. Thanks for leaving us to all the work, asshat!"

"What'ya call me?!" Natsu roared, jumping towards Gray, but was stopped by Lucy's arm.

"NO FIGHTING IN MY APARTMENT!" she yelled at him, retracting her arm as Natsu grumbled about how loud she was. "Thanks for the help, Gray." The last part almost came out as a whisper.

Already heading out of the door, she heard him say, "Yeah, yeah."

It wasn't the big wholehearted 'Of course!' but it was better than him scoffing at her. Understandably, Lucy didn't expect them to be on good terms, but she felt proud that she got her point across. Getting shamed for being her was justifiable. His reasoning was not. Maybe with time he could forgive her. Maybe in time _she_ could forgive herself.

Gazing back and forth from the door to Lucy, Natsu raised his eyebrow. "Did anythin' happen here?"

Snorting, Lucy shook her head. "I was kind of forced to converse with him when you got lazy and left!"

"Hey, I was gonna get Happy!" he defended.

"And that took 45 minutes?" she asked rhetorically.

"Well, since you went on an _epic quest_ to find this little fella," she started, squatting down to pet Happy, who quickly jumped out of Natsu's grasp to get attention. The feline-like creature bumped his head against Lucy's outstretched hand, accepting all the affection he could get. "I think it's only fair if you fix the last windows." She grinned widely at him, making him pout.

"Aw, no fair," he whined, falling back onto her bed dramatically. Lucy giggled at his silliness as she scooped Happy into her arms, standing up with a condescending smile. "It's not my fault ya live close to the habour! Happy loves fish!"

"I'll remember that for when I'm gonna steal him," she joked, tossing the werewolf her screwdriver. It landed beside him with a small 'thud', but he pushed it to the ground childishly.

"Ya can't steal Happy," Natsu defended, turning to his stomach. "Happy loves me! We've been friends since I was child. I am his favorite!"

As if the Exceed understood him, he snuggled closer into the arms of Lucy, nudging his head against her arm.

"Traitor," Natsu grumbled, earning a giggle for the blonde.

And then the rest of the afternoon went by. The two of them was just fooling around, Happy happily observing from her temporary bed. Natsu was complaining that she was too loud, while Lucy defended that she wouldn't yell at him if he didn't look through her belongings.

It was nice to have a friend for once, despite her having her privacy intruded.

 _You know, mama,_ she thought. _Maybe it will be a while before I see you again…_

* * *

It was getting late, yet Gajeel still sat in that goddamn chair in his master's office. As time went on, he felt his eyes growing heavier and heavier with each passing second. Despite having already eaten a dozen of times that day, the boredom made him hungry. He didn't remember how long he had just been sitting there, his arms crossed as his master was working by the desk.

Yawning, he stretched his arms above his head, clearly signaling that he wanted to leave, yet his master only huffed at him.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, something happened. A knock was heard on the door.

"Come in," Jose barked, clearly annoyed by the sudden interruption. "Make it quick."

Entering the room was a short, petite woman, panting as if she had been running. Her eyes were completely black, yet she didn't seem to pay any attention to that.

"Ah, Sue, come in, dear," he greeted, his eyes softening as he saw that one of his favorites entered. His favorites were either female - because he was pervy bastard - or really strong fighters. Sue fit both of those categories.

"Sorry, to interrupt, master, b-but I have some news," she started, bowing her head as she closed the door behind her. "We've located the whereabouts of Lucy Heartfilia, sir. Thought you'd like to know."

Suddenly not so interested in the work before him, the master looked up, placing his hands on his chin thoughtfully.

" _Where_?" he asked. It was less of a question, but more like a demand. The friendly attitude had been put behind him the moments 'Lucy Heartfilia' had left her lips.

"F-Fairy Tail, sir," she squeaked, bowing her head again.

Fairy Tail? Of all stupid the places she could have gone, she went to Fairy Tail. Not only did Gajeel know a few people there, but he also knew that a mixed bag of monsters wouldn't stand a chance against elite trained vampires.

Besides, Jose had always despised Fairy Tail. Gajeel couldn't recall the precise reason, but he knew that it was some kind of feud between the masters. If he knew his master well – and he did – he knew Jose wouldn't _just_ go after Lucy. He would leave a mark on the guild she was now calling home.

"Brilliant," Jose exclaimed, a deep laughter erupting from his stomach. Sue was taken aback from this outburst, clearly fearing she had done something wrong. "Brilliant, just brilliant! I have waited for years, Sue! Years! Not only can I steal a precious member of their pathetic guild, but I can finally strike the Fairies. Fina-fucking-lly!"

"Ehm… congratulations, master!" Sue praised nervously, not liking where this was going. Clearing her throat, she added, "Do you know when you are going to strike?"

Leaning back in his black leather chair, he thought for a moment. It was clear that he knew when to attack, but just wanted to seem thoughtful. Truly, the only thoughts that went through his thick skull was his hunger for power and naked women.

"Our first strike will take place in a week," Jose explained, grinning devilishly at the thought. _Sadistic bastard._ "We will go after someone who can't protect themselves. Send a warning so to speak. Then a few days later, we will strike."

Taking the blonde was one thing. It was another to bring other people into this. Truly, Lucy hadn't done anything wrong, she had just angered the wrong people – and for good reasons. Gajeel thought he would be _pretty pissed_ too if someone murdered his entire family, and turned him into a vampire.

"Jeez, give Blondie some time," he thought out loud, immediately regretting his words.

Turning his head towards Gajeel slowly, Jose spat, "Shut it." He slammed his palms against the table, startling the poor girl in front of him. "I won't forget about that stunt you pulled a month ago. You get that?"

Growling, he crossed his arms. He wasn't being completely truthful about his explanation. There was no way a vampire could accidentally miss a hit, so to say Jose had been upset with him was an understatement.

Ignoring his master's words, Gajeel sighed. "What ya even want with her?" he dared to ask, his stern eyes locked onto his master.

With a devilish smile, Jose answered, "I was going to make her join the guild, but she has angered me. I think we are just going to keep her as a toy."

That was where Gajeel stepped off. There was no way in hell that he was going to be a part of such a sick act. When Jose meant toy, he didn't mean a playmate or something innocent like that. No, there were much more sinister things in store for blonde vampire.

"No fucken' way I'm helping you with that," he exclaimed, getting up from his chair. "That's low even for you. I quit."

Raising his brows, Jose seemed to expect Gajeel to bow under for his killer glare, but as he didn't budge, Jose said, "And where are you going to go? Back to daddy? Last time I checked, he left your ass."

"I have family elsewhere," Gajeel growled. Yeah, someone who probably hated him. "And I'm an adult. I can do what the fuck I want."

"What about that little mermaid friend of yours? Would be a shame if anything were to happen to her."

"Ya leave Juvia out of this. She's been through enough already," Gajeel barked, his hands clenched as he walked towards Jose's desk. As Jose stood up, the two men were glaring each other dead in the eyes, Sue feeling out of place in the background.

"Say, Sue," Jose started sweetly, startling the girl. "Where was it Juvia Lockser was spotted last?"

They were keeping tracks of everyone he associated with? _Fuckin' unbelievable…_

"Fairy Tail, sir," she admitted, pity towards Gajeel in her voice. Sue was a good person. She was just stuck here because of threats from one man - like everyone else.

Clenching his teeth, Gajeel felt the sudden urge to find a wooden stick and stake his master down. Not only did he threaten to get rid of his probably only friend, but also ruining a poor girl's life. What kind of monster was he?

"I have eyes everywhere," Jose stated firmly. It was warning. "Do what's best for yourself and your little friend. And that is helping me." Sending him an evil smile, he added, "You can leave when this mission is done if that's what you please."

That would defeat the whole point of leaving.

"Whatever," he finally sighed, spinning around on his heels. "I'm gonna go hunting."

Truly, he just needed to think of what to do. There was no way in hell he was helping Jose. Sure, Gajeel didn't consider himself a good person, but some respect did he have. He needed to find out how the hell he could keep Juvia unharmed, while keeping a newborn vampire, who he had barely even talked to, safe at the same time.

As he walked past Sue, he just shook his head. Jose was truly horrible.

He needed to warn the blonde, but he just needed to know how. Before it was too late.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh, thank you for reading!
> 
> I'm sorry if this chapter was kind of boring, but I promise you that things will heat up soon!
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter, but firstly:
> 
> But there have been a few questions about the vampirism in this story, so I thought I'd write a little FAQ about this story c:
> 
> \- The vampires in this story are a little influenced by 'The Vampire Diaries' plus some things from the original myths of vampire, and some things I've come up with myself. You'll see more of their weaknesses, besides sun and hunger, later since I don't want to reveal it all heheh. The 'having to be invited in'-thing I scratched. I was originally going to include it, but it just seemed a little too… safe ;)
> 
> \- Lucy can drink blood both from the vein and from like a blood bag or mug.
> 
> \- Animallover asked if someone created vampires (like a witch) and I am actually working on the story of that. I thought about doing it the way it was in TWD, but I actually have a small idea that I'm working on.
> 
> \- Vampires are dead, meaning they don't have a heartbeat. They do, however, still have blood. The blood can heal, and is also what a mortal needs to drink before becoming a vampire (as you read in the first chapter.
> 
> \- Some vampires have special powers, besides mind control, super speed and strength, but it's nothing that will impact the story very much, unfortunately.
> 
> \- The siren is unfortunately a background character, but she's might have a few lines. I'm only a few chapters ahead of this one, but I have the general story line written down.
> 
> What each characters are – if you didn't catch on to that.
> 
> \- Lucy is a vampire
> 
> \- Natsu is a werewolf. He only transforms during the full moon, but he can use his werewolf strength and powers as he pleases. He does, however, tend to lose control of his free will as he does so.
> 
> \- Gray is cross between a yeti and an ice fairy – granting him his ice powers. Being in a warm climate does drain both his ice powers and his energy level – hence his stripping habit – meaning that he has to recharge ones in a while in a colder area.
> 
> \- Mira is a fairy.
> 
> \- Erza's species will be revealed later. It's not anything big story-wise, but I don't want to spoil anything.
> 
> \- The rest will be revealed along the way
> 
> Until next time
> 
> /Sofie


	4. You hungry?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, lovely readers!
> 
> So firstly I want to do a lil' apology thing (even though I do this for free ahaha):
> 
> 1\. I didn't reply to my last chapters reviews, and I'm so sorry! I have been a little busy with school
> 
> 2\. This chapter was a little late compared to the others. I was busy with school, and I'm nursing my first hangover hahaha. After 3 years of party-binge-drinking, my luck ran out. My head is killing me, but my inspiration is flooding.
> 
> I have also been really insecure about my writing since I always try to pass 5000 words, but I just fill it with shit. So you know, gonna write what Iove, but honestly, I'm probably gonna pass 5000 words, but I'm not going to aim to reach it every time.
> 
> Also, happy holidays! Whether you celebrate or not, I hope you have had a wonderful month!
> 
> Hope you enjoy this!
> 
> PS. REALLY IMPORTANT PSA! I have decided to take technology out of this fanfiction. I know I mentioned phones in the last chapter or so, but it's just a big complication. So I removed it and we're back in the Fairy Tail universe c:
> 
> Trigger warning: Mentions of suicide and suicidal thoughts (nothing graphic or anything)

 

"Whaa-? You can't eat _food_ either?!" Natsu gasped, staring at her with wide eyes as he pushed his empty plate towards Mira, asking for more. Happy was peacefully sleeping on his shoulder.

After a long and tiring afternoon of setting up Lucy precious UV-windows, playing board games, and talking, Natsu and Lucy had ventured to the guild. Natsu thought they both deserved refreshments, though Lucy had had to tell him that blood was the only thing she could consume.

Giggling at Natsu's overreaction, Lucy tapped her nails against the wooden counter as she spoke, "No- well, I mean, I can, but it's not like I'm craving it or it'll make me feel satisfied or anything. It tastes bad to me, and doesn't do anything. Nothing good comes from it."

Truly, Lucy missed food. She missed Miss Spetto's cooking, which was mainly composed of a buffet-like breakfast for the whole estate, two hot meals – lunch and dinner – and filled with snacks throughout the day. Although Lucy's grandmother died before she was born, Miss Spetto filled that void, making sure Lucy ate enough.

After turning into a vampire, Lucy had tried eating human food, but quickly discovered that it tasted horrible. The first thing she had tried had been a plate of spaghetti from a restaurant in a previous town, but she could barely get herself to swallow it. The taste of rubbing alcohol and dirt was almost as sickening as the thought of werewolf blood, and that was what the spaghetti had tasted like.

She had had to politely ask the waitress if she was able to get a doggie bag, because there was no way in hell she could pretend to like it. She promptly trashed it when she got back to her hotel room.

"But what about beef jerky? Or bacon?! No one can live without bacon!" he declared, almost looking at her sympathetically. Since a part of Natsu was dog, go figures he was addicted to meat.

Laughing whole-heartedly, Lucy shook her head. "Natsu, I have been a vegetarian for years. I think I can survive without bacon."

Narrowing his eyes, Natsu sighed, throwing his head back as he groaned. Lucy tilted her head at his annoyance, in which his response was, "Welp, there goes that plan."

"Huh?"

"Well, I was kinda thinkin' about how to keep ya fed without harming anyone," Natsu sighed, running his hand through his hair. "I was thinkin' that animals would be a good shot, but I ain't sure how you'll feel about that."

Smiling slightly, Lucy shook her head. "Sorry… I really don't want to harm animals either. But I was really sweet of you to think about. I'll just have to find a better way."

Shrugging, Natsu breathed out, "Naaah, don't worry about it. Guess ya just hafta feed of some good ol' werewolf blood."

"I said a _better_ way, Natsu!"

Natsu gasped, dramatically placing his hand over his chest. "Is my blood not good enough for ya?"

"Well, it's not that. I mean, it probably will taste disgusting," she started, earning a pout from the werewolf beside her. "But I don't want to hurt anyone. And you fall under that category."

"I'll be _fiiiiiiine_ ," Natsu whined.

Doubtlessly, he would probably be fine. Firstly, _if_ she was to feed on him, she probably wouldn't be able to drink much. Secondly, judging from the various scars around his body, he seemed to have been through worse. Thirdly, vampire blood could heal almost everything. Bite marks included.

Still, she didn't want to hurt anyone. As she had promised herself, she just had to stay strong.

Breathing out, Natsu seemed to leave that subject for now. Mira placed another plate of meal in front of him. It was a plate of different meats and a little side of fruit.

She turned to Lucy, smiling kindly at her. "Natsu's just worried about you," she pointed out, earning a sigh from the blonde. "But seriously, what will you do when you get hungry?"

Sighing again, Lucy began fiddling with the rem of the cloak hanging loosely around her neck. "I guess… I'll figure it out when I get hungry again. I was kind of thinking about getting it from blood bags, but I don't want to steal them…"

Mira nodded, understanding her issue. "Are you hungry now?"

"Nope," she lied. In fact, she was actually starving. Through the last month she had fed almost every day, only killing once – when Natsu found her – and just one day of not feeding made her almost go crazy. But she had made a promise to herself not to feed.

It seemed, however, the werewolf besides her saw through her lie immediately. Raising an eyebrow, he crossed his arms, Happy looking at her with squinted eyes as well.

"Liar," he muttered, not breaking eye-contact with her as he stuck a piece of bacon into his mouth. "I can see it in ya eyes."

Gasping, she placed her finger under eyes, not feeling any tightness. Perhaps she was too numb to feel her eyes tightening?

"Nah, that's not what I meant," he said, scratching the Exceed's head. "Your eyes ain't black. I can just see through your eyes. Ya seem hungry."

Lucy tried to ignore Mira's silent squeals, her face feeling warm despite the fact that she had no pulse.

Waving her hands defensively in front of herself, she laughed nervously. "I'll be fine!" she protested, Natsu still looking skeptically. "Plus… you said that you w-would be my a-anchor, so there's that?" She immediately regretted the last sentence as she didn't want to push their newfound friendship. And also the fact that Mira was most likely screaming internally. For some reason, the fairy was some kind of love addict.

Natsu, however, broke out in a wide grin. "Of course! But that also counts as using me to feed off!"

Laughing, Lucy said, "Why is it that you want me to feed off of you so badly?"

"Dunno," he shrugged, surprising Happy with the sudden movement. "Wanna feel what it's like. Also, so ya don't feel bad."

Despite the fact that Natsu had said something so sweet, Lucy couldn't help but quietly shiver. Yeah, she felt bad. Actually, she felt like shit. Her throat felt raw, and the waterline of her eyes were stinging as if she had been crying. Hunger was a terrible thing.

Lucy was thankful that Mira had gone to assist another hungry customer. Lucy had immediately grown very fond of the fairy, but she was a little much at times. As the duo – or trio, including Happy – had walked into the guild this afternoon, Mira had made an almost dirty comment about how close the two had become in such short time. Natsu, due to his innocence and probably denseness too, had brushed it off, but Mira hadn't let them off the hook. Squealing at every sign of affection, the fairy didn't give the two of them a break.

Mira returned shortly after, beginning to brew some coffee. Turning to Lucy, she asked, "Can I get you anything?"

Biting her bottom lip, Lucy shook her head. "No thank you, I'm good." _Lies._ Her throat felt raw and blistery. She knew the burning sensation was nothing physical. There was in fact not lava being poured down her throat, but the pain was as real as it got. In fact, she was far from ' _good'_. If she had had a choice, she would have gone on a blood-thirsty rampage by now. But her promise to herself was too strong to break – and Heartfilias never broke a promise. At least on her mother's side.

Her father had never been a good-hearted man. He wasn't a bad man per say, but he was known to be cold and cynical in the business world. In his family life, he was an _average_ dad. The times he actually were home, which wasn't often, he had two moods. The 'my family is my pride and happiness' mood, and the 'don't bother me, I'm working' mood. The second option was usually the one displayed. Lucy, however, had cherished the first mood as long as it lasted. She did have a great relationship with her mother anyways. The estate workers as well.

The estate workers had consisted of two categories. The maids and cooks, and The Zodiacs. The zodiacs was– _had been_ close friends of Layla's. All of them had been affiliated with Layla's father – and Lucy's grandfather – King. His real name had actually been Hunter 'King' Heartfilia, but everyone called him King, except for Lucy who had given him the nickname, Mustache Man, when she was a child. Growing up, Layla had been taught astrology by King.

That was where The Zodiacs came into play. King had owned a business of astrology, where he would predict things such as business partner compatibility, lover's compatibility, and even things as natural catastrophes to the government, after the 'powers of the stars' had told him. He had never been wrong even _once_.

The Zodiacs were twelve individuals – humans or magical creatures – who had either worked for King's company, or their parents had. And they all had one thing in common. They were named after their zodiac sign. For example, Loke was Loke Leo Regulus, while Sagittarius' real name was Archer Sagittarius Hunter. They all had their zodiac sign in their names, and for some reason their personality matched perfectly to their sign. Whether it was zodiac obsessed parents or name change later in life, they were all a part of The Zodiacs.

After the King retired, the whole staff, or their offspring, had been moved to the Heartfilia Estate, where they either worked as a staff member, or just kept Lucy company.

And now, the end of The Zodiacs had happened. And Lucy was alone.

The thought of never seeing the zodiacs was at least as heartbreaking as the thought of not seeing her mother anymore. If it wasn't for the fact that she was surrounded by strangers, she would have burst into tears just by the thought.

Snapping out of her thoughts, Lucy was met by the magical scents of all the blood she had been distracted from. Unconsciously, she grabbed the fabric of Natsu's vest, getting his attention. As if he read her thoughts, he inched closer to her, letting her take a discreet whiff of him. Thankful that Mira had her hands brewing coffee, Lucy let herself wince as his nauseating odor embedded itself into her nose.

Despite the fact that she was more nauseous than she would have liked to be, she wasn't hungry. At all. As she mouthed 'thank you' to him, he just grinned at her, picking up his empty plate to lick the remains. He was definitely part dog.

Catching her off guard, a tiny girl sat down on the empty stool besides Lucy. Lucy recognized her as the small, blue-haired witch she had seen yesterday. Only today, she wasn't being admired by the two love-sick creatures from the day before.

"Heyo, Levy!" Natsu greeted, waving a his hand at her.

"Good afternoon, Natsu," Levy chirped, grinning sweetly at the werewolf. Turning her attention to Lucy, she said, "You must be the new member Mira told me about! I'm Levy." Her voice was at least as adorable as she was. As she stretched her hand towards the blonde, Lucy reluctantly shook it.

"I'm Lucy," Lucy greeted, a small smile stretching on her lips. Luckily, with the help of Natsu's disgusting odor stuck in her nose, and the fact that she breathed through her mouth, she hadn't caught on to Levy's smell.

As Lucy let go of Levy's hand, Levy spoke, "Nice to meet you, Lu! Oh wait, sorry, can I call you Lu? It just kind of slipped." The witch scratched her head as she giggled.

Lucy blinked a few times. Now she knew for sure that Fairy Tail had certain openness. She knew that Natsu had a tendency of being overly friendly, but now she knew where he got it from. Fairy Tail sure was a magical place. And besides that, Levy was a witch. It was fairly well known that witches were natural introverts. Like the _loner_ type introvert. So the fact that Levy confronted Lucy made her feel warm inside.

"Sure, you can do that if you want to," Lucy smiled, feeling the warmth in her chest expand. She had never really had friends outside of the estate. Sure, she had had classmates she had been cozy with, but mostly it was Loke and the rest (or most) of the Zodiacs. "But only if I can call you Lev."

Before Levy could even answer, Natsu, probably feeling left out, leaned over the counter, grinning at Levy as he said, "Luce is super cool! She's writing a novel, and she's probably a big book-nerd like you are!" Lucy didn't know whether or not to take offense to that.

The blue-haired witch sighed. "What did I tell you about calling me a book-nerd," she grumbled, but her frown was soon turned into a smirk, turning her eyes to Lucy. "Okay, but if she's _really_ a, quote unquote, 'book-nerd', then she must know Ularie Torfiel."

_That_ peeked Lucy's interest.

"Are you kidding me?" Lucy blurted out, her eyes wide, and a smile on her lips. All of her past anxiety about being liked was thrown out the window as she quickly warmed up to the witch. "Of course I know Ularie Torfiel! I used to own a signed copy of 'The Tree of Joy'."

Levy's eyes widened. "Are you serious? I didn't even know she did book signings!"

And from there on, the two of them gushed about their love for literature. The conversation went from Ularie Torfiel to a handful of other authors that they both loved. Apparently, according to Natsu, who broke into their conversation, Levy had a mini-library in her room. Levy just brushed it off, saying that 'two walls of bookshelves weren't that much'.

As the conversation of went on, Levy asked into Lucy's novel, where Lucy became all flustered. It was a work in progress for sure, but Levy seemed interested as Lucy managed to utter out the basic plot. Soon after – and Lucy wasn't sure how – Levy had convinced her to let her be the first one to read it. Lucy kept the part secret where Natsu had _violated_ her privacy and read it.

After fifteen minutes of a mutual geek-out, Natsu seemed to have reached his boredom-tolerance.

He suddenly flung his arm around Lucy's shoulder, _grazing_ her with his scent. "Lushee, I'm bored," he complained, earning a giggled from Levy. "Let's go on a mission! Ya need money for rent and furniture. Do you even have a spare set of clothes?"

Natsu sure made his point, catching her attention with her weakness of clothes. Before she could even ask about what kind of missions he was thinking about, the guild doors flew open, startling her. She had to get used to the never-ending chaos around here.

"Master! You're back!" Mira exclaimed happily as a new presence entered the guild.

Spinning around on her stool, Lucy's eyes landed on the tiniest, elderly man she had ever seen. Although he was using a magically looking walking stick to walk, he seemed to be quite energetic and high in spirit. He grinned widely at the bartending fairy, embracing children as they ran up to him.

When Lucy had imagined a guild master, she imagined him to be a tall and intimidating creature – possibly having horns, and judging her every movement. This man seemed kind and pure of heart. His heartbeat was speedy, and pumped his blood ever so delicately through his veins. With her best efforts, she managed not to breathe in his scent.

As the small man made eye contact with the curious vampire, he nodded and smiled at her as he walked towards the bar.

"Yo, gramps!" Natsu greeted, spinning around to meet the master. It was clear to see that Natsu had a special bond with elderly creature, seeing as he had a nickname for him. "How boring was the council meeting from one to restocking the library?"

Levy leaned over to smack Natsu's arm, grumbling about how 'library restocking could be fun'.

"Natsu, my boy," the master sighed, shaking his head as he clearly ignored the werewolf's comment. Turning his bearded head towards Lucy, he spoke, "And who do we have here?"

As the sudden attention turned to Lucy, she could barely even utter her own name out of feeling flustered. But as always, Natsu came to her rescue.

"Gramps, this is our new member, Luigi!" he exclaimed, the proudness of his use of 'Luigi' showing on his face.

Now it was Lucy's turn to smack his arm. "It's Lucy, you douchebag!"

As Natsu rubbed his sore arm, the master wheezed as a deep laughter boomed from his chest. Both Mira and Levy giggled at Natsu's misfortune, where Natsu could only pout.

"I like this one! She's feisty!" Master exclaimed, slapping his knee as he continued to laugh. Lucy didn't know how to react to that comment, but she assumed it could only be positive. As his laughter died down, he looked at Lucy ones again. "Let's have a talk, my child. I want to get to know my children."

Lucy turned her head to Natsu, looking for approval for this new situation. As he nodded with a smile, Lucy got up from her stool. The tiny man waved over his shoulder for her to follow him.

"Good luck, Lu! You will need it," Levy teased, stretching her arms over her head. If it wasn't for the fact that Lucy was literally starving, she would have stuck her tongue out at Levy.

Natsu snapped his fingers, getting the attention from the blonde walking the stairs. "I'll find that mission while ya're gone," he yelled to her, waving at her as she walked. Both Levy and Natsu turned to the fairy in the bar, ordering more food to tame Natsu's appetite.

* * *

Sitting in the tiny office – clearly designed for the tiny creature – Lucy felt uncomfortable. Not only didn't she have her 'anchor' close to her, but his scent was also leaving her nose. Not that she was planning to attack the elderly man in front of her, but it was more the ever growing pain that worried her.

As the master sat down on the other side of the table, he quickly scanned the paper Mira had given him. His unreadable expression didn't make her feel any better. Despite the fact that the room was rather cozy – paintings and rugs plastered all over – it didn't help her anxiety.

Looking up, he smiled as he said, "I'm gonna take a wild guess and say that your name is Lucy Heartfilia?"

Lucy almost choked as she blinked at him. "Wha- how did you know?"

The master chuckled kindly, but his eyes were sympathetic as he spoke, "The news of the Heartfilias' death, and their missing daughter hasn't died down. Seeing as it was a vampire attack, and we suddenly have a new vampire, I just put two and two together."

Lucy gaped at the elderly man. If he could figure it out, surely everyone else could. Her family had been extremely rich and well-known across Fiore, but that wasn't how she wanted to be know. To be fair, she didn't know _how_ she wanted to be know.

Master raised his hand, signaling that she had nothing to worry about. "I will keep your secret safe for as long you need it." Lucy breathed out, feeling a sense of comfort wash over her. Master added, "My name is Makarov Dreyar, by the way. Thought it would only be fair, since I know your name."

Makarov suited him, but she still had no idea what kind of creature he was. She was truly confused. He looked and smelled like a human.

Lucy cleared her throat, trying to shake off the awkwardness of her question. "Master, can I ask… what kind of… _creature_ are you?"

With a soft smile, Makarov said, "Don't be so shy. It's only fair, since I know so much about you. I am a giant." He spoke as if it was obvious, but there was no way that the man, who could barely reach her knees, was a giant. He suddenly laughed at her confused face. "Ahahaha! I know it doesn't seem like it, but I am. I am protected by a spell that makes me this size. I would rather be 3"9 feet than 55" feet."

Lucy couldn't help but giggle at the 'giant's' silliness. Just like everyone else in Fairy Tail, he was an optimistic guy. However, the humorous atmosphere soon came to a halt. As always, Lucy's throat was on fire, and she felt her eyes tightening. She had accidentally caught onto Makarov's scent.

"Tell me, Lucy," he said in a low tone. He didn't seem alarmed as his dark eyes met hers. He asked, "Have you thought about what you are going to do with staying fed?"

It was most likely the three hundredth time she had been asked that today, and she was still as clueless as before.

"I… don't know," she spoke slowly, her eyes fixated on her hands. It was a lost cause. One, she didn't _want_ to feed. Two, she didn't know _how_ to get her hands on blood without stealing or hurting anyone. "I should be good for a few more days though. I'll figure it out by then." Her lie slipped over her lips as if she had practiced that sentence for years. She didn't even think she'd be good for a few more _hours_.

Makarov hummed in approval, nodding at her words. "Very well, my child," he said softly. She felt her eyes untighten. Finding an empty folder, he placed her initiation paper into it, writing her full name at the top. "As I said, your secret is safe with me. Now, run along! I have paperwork to do."

Lucy smiled at the man as she nodded, and got up.

* * *

Lucy walked out of the office. She was feeling rather optimistic after her conversation with master, however, as she made it out to the bar area, the inevitable hunger hit her – again. She gazed down at the creatures sitting at the bar, noticing how more and more people had flocked around Levy and Natsu, and soon it was a whole group.

She noticed that Erza and Gray had joined the group. Despite having an _almost_ positive conversation with Gray earlier, she didn't feel like she wanted his company right now. Erza on the other hand was a whole different story. Lucy had come to like the intimidating woman, however, as Lucy's eyes fell on Erza's hair, she felt her hunger increase. She needed to get out of here.

Before she could even think about sneaking out, Natsu's eyes fell on her. "Oi, Luce! I found us a mission!" The childish grin on Natsu's face almost - _almost_ \- made her feel better, but the hunger was getting unbearable.

"That's great, Natsu," she smiled, walking up to the werewolf. All the conversations around her stopped as she approached the group. Gray avoided eye-contact with her, staring into his ice coffee.

"Hello, Lucy," Erza greeted, raising her tea cup as welcoming gesture. "Have you found a nice apartment?"

Lucy nodded. "Y-yeah, it's on Strawberry street. I quite like it!"

Levy smirked at Lucy, clasping her hands together. "Aw, all the houses on Strawberry street are so cute! You will have to let me visit you one day!"

Lucy nodded with a shaky smile, still standing up. Her eyes fell on Erza's hair again. Red. Blood is red. Blood is great. She needed blood right now. Swallowing the burning clump in her throat she was about to announce her takeoff, but Natsu broke in first.

"Ohhh, we should all have a sleepover at Lucy's," he proposed, Happy purring in agreement on his shoulder. "Her house's so cozy!"

"S' alright," Gray muttered. Lucy tried with all her might to brush off his comment.

For a few minutes, the group chatted back and forth, but soon Lucy's throat felt like it was on fire. She would cry if she wasn't around people, the pain almost making her see white.

"Listen," Lucy spoke, dragging out the word. "It's getting late, and I'm tired, so I will head home. I will see you all tomorrow, I guess?"

A handful of 'sure thing' and 'see you, Lucy' was thrown around, in which Lucy just nodded with a strained smile. The groups conversations went on, but as she began to turn around, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

Natsu looked at her with serious eyes. "Do ya want me to walk with ya?"

He saw right through her. He could see her hunger, despite all her efforts to keep her black eyes from appearing. He knew she was in pain.

Nervously, Lucy shook her head. "I'll be fine, Natsu," she promised, mustering the most genuine faux smile she could. "We'll go on that mission tomorrow, right?"

Natsu blinked at her before saying, "Yeah, sure, but are ya su-" before he could even finish his sentence, Lucy had left the bar, throwing the hood of her cloak over her head as she walked out of the guild.

She was so _fucking_ hungry.

* * *

Lucy felt ashamed and useless. Despite having Natsu's scent stuck in her nose, the hunger was still getting to her. The pumping veins of mortals was enough to make her lose her mind. Her throat felt raw and burned up, yet the only physical symptom she had was a slightly hoarse voice. Everything else was pain that only she could feel.

As she made it into her apartment, she was angry. She didn't know why, because honestly, she would rather feel sad than angry. Anger was frustrating and hard to get rid of, while sadness could be cried away. Slamming her door shut, just soft enough for it not to break, but hard enough for some dust to fall from the ceiling.

She quickly shredded her cloak, and began to pace her room. All the emotions were too much for her to handle, yet here she was. All she wanted was to feel normal and to be able to walk off her anger, but she couldn't. Human anger and vampire anger was too different things. The first was a part of life, the second was a part of the newborn phase.

After almost fifteen minutes of pacing around her apartment, probably pissing her landlord off, her anger hadn't simmered down one bit. From sudden outbursts of curse words, to ripping in her golden locks, nothing seemed to help her.

Throwing herself on her fragile fold-out bed, she buried her face into the feather-down pillow, her legs shaking from restlessness.

"Why me?" she whispered into the fabric. Sure, she had done some _fucked_ up things while being a vampire, but how long could her punishment last? How long would her life be hell on earth?

But at the same time, she probably deserved it. Not only had she fed on unwilling people, but she had killed someone. Someone with a family, friends, and dreams. Someone who was just trying to rid the world of yet another monster. Of course, these thoughts were out of self-pity, but that was all she could do to cope.

That, and crying. Lucy had never really been the angry type of human, so she didn't really have any knowledge of whether or not she was an angry crier. However, as she squeezed her eyes shut, she could finally feel the comforting stinging sensation in her eyes. She _was_ an angry crier, sure, but as she let out a muffled sob, she found comfort in her emotions flooding out.

Her sobs turned into muffled screams into her pillow. At this point she couldn't tell whether or not she was angry, sad, or both. As many other nights, she let herself mourn. Tonight she couldn't quite figure out why she was mourning, but she let her emotions do its thing.

As her crying turned to mere sniffles, she felt herself slowly dozing off. Exhausting herself from crying seemed to become a habit.

* * *

Lucy woke up in a strange place. In a field to be exact, and the setting wasn't very pleasant. The sky above her was gray and cloudy, a brisk wind making her hair fly into her face. As she sat up, she tied her hair back with a hair tie that had magically appeared around her wrist. Despite being in daylight, she wasn't burning up, but she didn't think much of it.

Surrounded by dying plants and weeds, she looked around to see that that was all there was for miles. She was stuck in the middle of nowhere, a naked tree being the only other thing around. Or so she thought.

Standing up in the muddy field, she looked around once again. No matter where she turned, there were only dying, gray-ish plants. Usually, her vampire hearing would pick up the smallest amount of sound from the nearest town, but there was nothing. She almost felt human.

"Bunny-girl," that voice…

Turning her head she shrieked. In front of her, only a few feet from her, stood that man who had simultaneously helped kill everyone she loved, yet helped her out at the same time. Her emotions were trying to figure out what to feel, but couldn't decide, so she just ended up slowly backing away.

"Gehehe, ya look like a scared bunny," Gajeel snickered, crossing his arms. _So that was why he called her bunny-girl…_

"Wh-what are you doing here?" she stammered, hugging her torso as she spoke. Truly, she didn't know what she herself was doing in the middle of nowhere, but she decided not to question it, since his explanation probably would answer her questions.

The wind raged around her, ripping in her clothes and making the tall plants dance around her. There were no birds or animals around, only him, the naked tree, and herself. If anything were to happen, she was alone. She didn't know anything about fighting, and he was so much stronger than her. She was truly fucked.

"Well, if ya haven't noticed, this place is kinda creepy," he started out, his arms still crossed. "That's because this is in ya head. Us vampires can contact each other through thoughts and dreams. Thought it'd creep you out if my voice suddenly appeared in ya head." He snickered at his own comment, but Lucy didn't find it humorous at all.

He pointed to his head as he said, "This ain't in a dream per say. I made this place up so I could speak to ya without gettin' caught. We're in a limbo between your head and mine. So I guess you could say this is kinda like a dream."

"You couldn't have made it a bit creepier while you were at it?" Lucy grumbled as she, too, crossed her arms. She felt more comfortable knowing that this encounter wasn't real life, so nothing could happen – she hoped.

Gajeel scoffed at her sudden change of attitude, but shook his head instead of snapping back at her. "Listen, I'm here to warn ya."

"Warn me? About what?"

"Jose is coming," he stated, watching as her calm face twisted into fear. Jose was coming after her. He hadn't been kidding when he said he would find her.

Lucy felt her breath hitch in her throat as the horrifying night of her death replayed in her mind. She was not ready to face Jose. Not yet. She needed more time. Not only more time to get herself together, but more time to heal as well. Jose was a grim reminder of the never healing wound in her mind.

Before she could begin to panic fully, Gajeel spoke.

"My guild, Phantom Lord, is really fuckin' strong," he stated, not making her feel any better. In fact, that was just icing on top of the cake, which she called her fear. "That's why I'm here to tell ya to prepare yourself."

Her shaking hands were sweating as she rubbed her neck nervously. "What do you mean 'prepare'?"

He placed his hands on his hips, giving her a 'are you kidding me'-kind of look. "Ya know… tell Fairy Tail to prepare themselves, get in the mindset of what the fuck's about to happen, and the most important thing: _feed_. Feed as much as you can. Ya'll need it for what looks to be a fuckin' mess."

_Feed_. Of course the universe was after her. Of course she'd have to break her promise. Too bad that she wasn't planning to do that. She had never broken a promise – not even to herself. When she set her mind to something, she'd do it. That included feeding. Or something like that.

"I… can't," she confessed, hugging her body tightly. She didn't feel the burning sensation in her throat in this dream scenario – probably because there weren't any humans around. "I promised myself not to feed. Not after…" She cut herself off, realizing that he probably already caught her point.

There was some awkward shuffling before Gajeel spoke up, "That's pretty fucken stupid. When was the last time ya fed?"

Placing her finger on her chin, she thought for moment. "Like… two-three days ago?"

She could almost feel him tense up, as if she had done something stupid. All she did was _not_ hurt anyone. That was literally the opposite of stupid. Besides, she had been taught that vampires were able to survive months without blood. There was nothing stupid about her decision

"Are you tellin' me… that ya aren't feedin'?" he almost sounded angry as the words left his mouth. "Are ya completely stupid or just naturally blonde because I can't tell at this point."

Feeling slightly offended, Lucy placed her hand on her chest. "Excuse me?"

"Ya heard me," he huffed, crossing his arms. His eyes shot daggers as he made stern eye-contact with her. "You're gonna mummify, you know that right?" Her eyes widening as she shook her head slowly.

"Yeah, that's what happens when ya don't feed," he said as if it was an obvious thing. "You slowly grow weak, then your body becomes painful, and soon your skin is melting off, and you mummify. Nothin' good from that!"

Lucy glanced at him with horrified eyes. As the sudden fear hit her, the speed of the wind got faster. The strands of hair hanging loosely around her face, whipped her cheeks as she gaped at Gajeel. Honestly, she would rather die than feed, but she didn't want that painful of a death.

As if he could read her mind, he sighed and shook his head. "Listen, I know you just wanna be a good person or whatever, but a vampire needs blood. Ya can't just _not_ drink it. It won't make ya stronger. It won't make the hunger go away."

Lucy didn't respond as she looked down, strands of hair covering her eyes. He was asking her to break her promise. Never in her life had she ever broken a promise. But it wasn't really that that bugged her. He was just confirming what she knew deep down. Drying herself out wouldn't make her stronger or give her more willpower. It was going to make her existence so much more painful than it already was.

"We all went through the newborn phase," he added more softly, making her look up. "It's inevitable. I reckon you killed for the first time?" Her silence answered his question. "Yeah, that one's always tough, but listen to me when I tell you this."

Meeting his eyes, she nodded.

"This shit? It _will_ get easier," he said, almost making her gasp. From what she knew of Gajeel, which wasn't much, she knew that he wasn't the soft and bubbly guy. And definitely not the gushy-mushy kind, who would comfort someone like that. She was starting to wonder if this whole thing actually was a dream. Maybe her sub-consciousness was playing a trick on her?

"But I can't take three months of this hell," she uttered, mentally cursing at herself for letting her voice break. "Every time I look at the bite mark I panic. Every little mistake I make is the world's end. And every time I see a man looking like the man I killed, I want to kill _myself_." Taking a deep breath, she whispered, "It's only been one month. I don't know how much longer I can take."

"It ain't called the Suicide Phase for nothing, ya know," he huffed, lightly kicking a rock with his foot. "But sometimes you just gotta grab life by its balls. Nothing's going to get better unless you work for it."

More work. Of course. She knew deep down that she somehow had to get used to the urges, or at least learn how to satisfy them, but she was so tired. So tired of the pain, the mood swings, the hunger, the memories, and her _fucking_ life. Sure, she had settled herself nicely at her own pity-party, but she felt comfortable there. After all, life had hit her hard.

Shoving his hands into his pockets, he looked up at the gray sky. "We are blood junkies for sure, but this ain't the kind of addiction that ya need to get rid of. Get addicted to a routine. Like gettin' up, showering, putting on makeup, or whatever it is you girls like. Then, after that is done… feed. I don't give a shit from where, but you hafta. It's not a choice. It's the only thing that'll get you through these months."

She blinked a few times, taking in his surprisingly helpful advice. She had always been very fond of routines, but she still hated hurting other people.

"Also, animal blood tastes shit, and it is like living life on white crackers," he verified, kicking the same rock as before. "Humans will satisfy you most, including human _oid_ creatures."

Lucy nodded. "Wasn't planning on that anyways."

Soon an awkward silence endured, making Lucy look down, however, Gajeel barely even blinked. He was studying her, probably trying to cope with the silence as well.

"How long did it take for you?" she finally murmured, meeting his eyes ones again. As he cocked his pierced eyebrow, she added, "For it to stop hurting I mean. As in, every time someone walks by, I get thirsty. It burns so much."

Breathing out a long breath, he thought for moment. "I would say… after I learned howta' feed properly. It's ya body tellin' you that ya need to feed. After I got into a routine with feedin', it all simmered down. Sure, there's still the occasions where it burns, but it's nothin' compared to the start of the newborn phase."

Lucy nodded, content, yet annoyed, with the answer. That meant that she actually needed to feed soon, but that had already been established earlier. Where she would get the blood, without hurting anyone, was her next issue.

As another awkward silence started to endure, Lucy was quick to break the silence.

"I have another question," she stated, almost nervous to ask. She didn't want to anger him, but she needed to know.

"Whatever, bunny-girl, but it hafta be quick," he nodded. "I can't really tell the time, but I'm pretty sure it's almost morning." She raised her eyebrows at him in confusion. They had been in this dream for a maximum of fifteen minutes. He quickly added, "Time moves quicker in here."

Nodding slowly, Lucy inhaled sharply. "Why are you helping me?" she finally asked, her voice low. "You helped me before, but still… you helped kill everyone I love. Why… are you trying to help me after all of that?"

Scratching his head, he sighed. "Don't forgive me," he advised, only this time avoiding eye-contact. "I do bad things. I'm not a good man, but it's not by choice. I don't wanna make excuses for myself, but I'm a tool for Jose. The fate he has in store for you ain't pretty. I have no choice but to fight by his side, but I can give you warning."

Silently, Lucy nodded. Although his description of her 'fate' was vague, she accepted his answer. Everyone was entitled to their own secrets, and the two of them weren't exactly being buddy-buddy. Hell, she hadn't even been _that_ open to her newfound friends at the guild.

As the wind picked up its pace, she noticed how the sky was clearing, which for some reason made Gajeel curse.

"Alright," she said, letting out a sigh as she was slowly coming to terms with the fact that her life was not going to be peaceful any time soon.

"Look, the sky is clearing, which means that the physical me is being woken up," he hurried, as the sky was rapidly being washed over with a light blue color. "So tell me whatya gonna do."

"I'm going to… feed, and warn the guild," she recited, feeling her vision blur as the dream was slowly ending.

"Good," he sighed, scratching his head as he looked up at the rapidly clearing sky. He closed his eyes, probably getting ready to leave the dream, but quickly opened them again to add, "Oh and, bunny-girl?"

Ignoring the unwanted nickname, Lucy forced her heavy eyelids open. "Hm?"

"Don't. Fail." was the last thing he said before her vision turned white, and she felt herself fall back into reality.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What?! An actual plot entering this story? What?!
> 
> Lol, okay I hope you enjoyed this chapter! If you did, please leave a comment! It really helps motivate me. Constructive criticism is always alright! c:
> 
> A hint about the next few chapters: Lucy's hunger is going to be tested
> 
> /Sofie


	5. Festival Fun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone!
> 
> Sorry for the wait, but hey, I usually update once a week, and it's still the same week so it's all good ahaha.
> 
> Thank you so, so much to Animenerdd8 for betaing this chapter. It really helped me a great deal!
> 
> And just another thing: A lot of people has been really concerned about the fact that I said that Lucy can't have children. In all honesty, I don't know – I haven't even thought about it! Lucy, due to the fact that she's a vampire, means that she's dead. Being dead, means that she doesn't have a pulse – meaning that she doesn't need her heart, but she still has the same perception of pain, pleasure, and feelings (if not even more heightened) as humans. She's not just a zombie. She looks human.
> 
> Back to the children thing. Honestly, I haven't really given it much thought, and even though I have already answered the question, I'm going to tell you just to keep reading. If I create a loophole, I create a loophole. If I don't, I don't. I don't want to give into the pressure of it, but I can definitely see where the plot development could be in that! If I was to create a loophole, I already have a slight idea, but I don't want to get your hopes up.
> 
> Please don't feel bad for asking! All your reviews and comments are really helping me see what you guys want, and maybe I'll mix it with what I want. c:
> 
> But I hope you enjoy this week's chapter!

Lucy's eyes fluttered open, and she was soon met by the morning sun. Her thin blanket was covering her body, different to when she fell asleep. Blinking a few times, she tried to recall what had happened in her 'dream'.

' _Don't. Fail_.' rung through her head as if it was tinnitus. How the hell was she supposed to _not_ fail? A superior vampire guild was coming for her, and she didn't even know when. Not to mention that she was completely inexperienced with fighting. She wasn't just putting her new friends in danger, but also risking an unknown fate. She was so fucking screwed.

She knew one thing though. She needed to feed. For the first time ever, she was going to break her promise to herself, to her mother. As the thought of blood entered her mind, her throat started its fiery torture. Swallowing thickly, she managed to push half the pain away - enough to make the morning bearable.

However, as she sat up, her morning got a little more odd. The pink-haired werewolf was sleeping soundly on the edge of her bed, Happy resting on his rising chest.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN MY BED?!" she exclaimed flustered, kicking him off the bedside, and making him hit the floor. Happy had predicted her outburst, and had jumped into her lap at the last second.

On the floor, Natsu groaned. "Oww," he whined, sitting up with a frown. "That really hurt, Lucyyy!"

Huffing, Lucy turned her head. "Well, you _were_ sleeping in my bed! What were you expecting?"

He didn't seem to understand her outburst, so he chose to ignore it. Stretching his arms above his head, he yawned, Happy mimicking his actions. Lucy had to try her hardest to stay angry as she observed the Exceeds adorableness.

"Man, Luce, ya really need a new bed," he complained, stretching his back. "The floor is more comfy than that thing."

"Then why did you sleep in it?" she hissed, irritation creeping into her voice. What person sneaks into someone else's bedroom, and _sleeps_ in their bed?

He merely shrugged. "Dunno. Felt like it?"

"Ass," she grumbled, picking up Happy in her arms, feeling the Exceed's head nuzzle against her shoulder. If Natsu didn't behave anytime soon, she could always make Happy her favorite - which he wasn't far from. Then today's plans crossed her mind, "What about that mission today?"

He broke into a huge grin as he pulled out a sheet of paper. "It's perfect! The right amount of action, and it takes place after sundown!"

Lucy snatched the paper from him, and scanned over the words.

' _Creatures needed at the annual Clover Town Night Light festival. Gang members has been terrorizing the city, and we need someone to keep the peace. Reward: 160.000 Jewels_ '

"So… we have to capture some gang members," Lucy recited, lowering the paper to meet Natsu's eyes. "That seems simple enough. And the reward is pretty damn good."

"Told ya it was perfect," he smiled proudly, taking the request from Lucy again. Folding it, and putting it under his vest, he frowned. "There's one sliiight problem though…"

"And what is that…?"

He leaned in closer, putting his hand besides his mouth as he whispered, "The she-devil _insisted_ on comin' with."

Lucy tilted her head, unsure of who the 'she-devil' was.

" _Erza_ ," he hissed, his voice still low.

"Why are you whispering? It's not like she's in my apartment," Lucy deadpanned, smacking her forehead once again.

Natsu shook his head. "No, but it's like she always knows when I talk about her. She _knows_ , Luce!"

Surely, Erza wouldn't be able to hear what they were talking about, but seeing the creature's intimidating nature, Natsu's fear was justifiable.

And then, a picture of Erza popped into Lucy's head. Her red hair stood out like a sore thumb. Lucy felt her eyes tightening, and she immediately went to touch her under eye area, as it had become a habit of hers.

Natsu frowned. "Ya hungry?"

For a moment, Lucy contemplated lying, and saying it was a 'natural occurrence', but one, it would sound like she was referring to a boner. And two, she _hated_ lying.

Deciding to tell the truth, she sighed, and nodded, avoiding eye-contact with the werewolf.

"Then why ain't ya eating?" Natsu asked, but before she could even answer, he gasped. "Wait, is it because I told ya you were heavy?!" he exclaimed, a slightly panicked expression on his face.

Lucy tilted her head, annoyance starting to surface. "Wait when did you call me heavy-"

Interrupting her, he immediately bowed down in front of her. "I-I was just jokin'! I'm _sooorrry_! It was Happy's idea!"

The Exceed meowed in protest, nuzzling Lucy's pale arm. Blinking, Lucy gazed puzzled at the panicked werewolf in front of her.

"Wait you think-" she couldn't even finish her sentence as she realized what he meant. Just by the thought of Natsu thinking he offended her, Lucy broke into a laughter. Natsu exchanged a confused look with Happy.

"Y-you thought I was starving myself to lose weight?" she laughed, grasping her stomach as bend over. She knew eating disorders were no laughing matter, but the fact that Natsu forgot that she was dead, _once again_ , was the funny part. As soon as she regained her breath, she spoke, "Natsu… I'm dead. My body is stuck like this. But thank you for the apology."

Nats blinked. "So… you're not tryin' to lose weight?"

Lucy shook her head. "I couldn't do that even if I wanted to."

"Then why ain't ya eating?"

"For the same reason as yesterday," Lucy said, running a hand through her golden locks. "I don't want to hurt people." _But_. _But_! She needed to. That was what she needed to. Not only to have a pain free life, but also to have at least a _small_ chance against Phantom Lord. Rolling her shoulders, she muttered, "But I think might have to today. It's too freaking painful." She ended her sentence with a small laugh, trying to shrug off any possible worry from her friend.

However, Natsu seemed to have completely missed the last part, as he broke into a huge grin, holding out his bare, tan arm. "Ohhh, nice! Dig in!"

Slapping her forehead, Lucy sighed loudly. "Natsu, I'm not going to feed from you!" she exclaimed, crossing her arms.

"Why not?" he pouted, lowering his arm.

"Because," she breathed out, not knowing how to get her point across. "I don't want to hurt you." Before he could protest, she added, "And… your blood smells really nasty. Sorry. I'll just have to find another way." It wasn't a lie, but what kept her from feeding from him the most, was the fact that she would hurt him. The unpleasant scent was just an add-on.

With a frown, he argued, "What way then?"

Lucy paused, unsure of what to answer. It wasn't just like she could march up to a hospital and ask if she could get some blood. Besides that, she couldn't just feed off some innocent civilian, even though that was what she had done for the past month.

"I'll f-figure it out later," Lucy dismissed, suddenly not wanting to talk about it anymore. Truthfully, she was not going to find out later. She was actually rather lost. "I'll need to shower before we leave."

Natsu shrugged, uncertainty still playing in his eyes. "Alright, but Erza said we gotta be at the station by eleven." Nodding, Lucy looked over at the small travel alarm on her bedside table. 9:04 am.

He suddenly shivered, slapping a hand over his mouth as he groaned. Lucy raised an eyebrow at his weird reaction, but he just dismissed it. "Don't - blergh! - worry about me! Just ate somethin' bad."

Lucy shook her head, believing him as she had gotten to know his inhumane appetite. "Alright, but _don't throw up on my carpet, you heathen!_ " she exclaimed as he was still looking rather sick. Her expression softened, however, as she added, "Oh, and Natsu?"

Suddenly looking alright again, he looked up at her, "Yeah?"

"I'll have to go see the master before we leave," she said, swinging her legs over the side of her bed. Happy jumped out of her lap, before peacefully lying down. "I, eh, forgot to say something important to him yesterday."

For a moment, Natsu looked rather puzzled, trying to figure out what could be so important, but he quickly shrugged it off. "Ah okay, we just gotta be at the… s-station at eleven." As Lucy was about to get up, he grabbed her wrist, and stared her directly in her eyes. "She _will_ have our heads if we ain't there on time," he added darkly, a shiver running down Lucy's spine.

Lucy nodded slowly, and stood up. "Got it."

As she began to make her way towards the bathroom, she suddenly felt lightheaded. As if she was about to pass out, her eyesight started to go static, black edges covering her field of vision.

_Don't pass out. Don't pass out. Don't pass out._

"Ya okay over there, Luce?" Natsu asked, tilting his head as concerned expression washed over his face.

 _Don't pass out. Don't you_ _**dare** _ _pass out!_

Stars were flying around in her vision. Her knees were weak, but she was determined not to pass out. She grabbed the chair by her desk, using its stability to hold herself up. For a moment she thought it was just because she got up too fast, but as her throat _erupted_ into fire, she knew that wasn't the case. God, she needed to feed soon.

_Fuck, don't pass out!_

"I-I'm fine," she lied, feeling her eyes tightening. _Not now, not now, not now_. "I'm just going to shower, and then I'll be ready!"

And without making eye-contact with the concerned werewolf, she headed into the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

* * *

"Thank you for seeing me so last minute, Master," Lucy said, her hands clenched in her lap. After her little almost-fainting-incident, she had tried to convince Natsu that she was fine, although he didn't really believe her. She was still feeling tingly, and as if she was going to crash down the moment she would stand up. Smiling at Makarov, she added, "I don't know how busy you are, but it's… really important."

Makarov shook his head, brushing her concern off with the wave of his hand. "Don't you worry, my child," he smiled, folding his hands. "So tell me, what's on your mind?"

Sucking in a deep breath, Lucy forced herself to make eye-contact with the tiny man. "So… okay. I had a dream- well, it wasn't really a dream, but whatever." She felt herself starting to ramble. Why was it so hard? Was it because her existence was bringing a ton of people in danger? Yeah, probably.

Rolling her shoulders a few times, she looked down on her hands, her pink guild mark shining bright. "Okay, so, a vampire from Phantom Lord contacted me through a dream. And he… warned me about something."

"What did he warn you about?" Makarov asked, his voice soft, but his eyes serious.

And then Lucy told him everything. About the bloodbath that was probably soon to come, about Gajeel appearance, about the unknown fate that was in store for her, and that Fairy Tail needed to prepare. She left out their emotional conversation about the newborn phase. She didn't want to burden the guild even more.

Makarov was unreadable. His eyebrows were scrunched together, a hand stroking his beard. He didn't look her in the eyes until he spoke up.

"That's troubling," her breathed out, deep in thought. Lucy shuffled in her seat, not knowing if she should say anything. The elderly man looked up at her, a worried glimpse in his eyes. "Did he tell you anything else? Perhaps a date, or how many vampires we should be expecting?"

Lucy shook her head and sighed. "No, I-I'm sorry, master," she murmured, eyes locked on her clenched fists in her lap. "I guess Gajeel's on our side, but he didn't say anything else. I'm sorry."

Makarov reached over the table, extending his hand as a signal for her to take it. She reluctantly did so, feeling him squeeze her cold hand. Up until now, she hadn't noticed that she was shaking. At this point, she didn't have the energy to wonder if it was from hunger or fear. After all, those were her chronic moods as of lately.

"You listen to me, Lucy," he said in a serious tone. "This isn't your fault. Phantom Lord's hatred to Fairy Tail goes way back. You just happened to be stuck in the middle." He squeezed her hand ones more before sitting back in his chair. "If I remember correctly, you have a mission today. Go on that mission, and leave the rest to me. Go out with your newfound friends. Enjoy life!"

Lucy was stunned. Not only did he manage to take most of her worries off of her back, but also make her feel a tad happier.

"B-but, master, what it-"

He cut her off. "No what if's. This information was very important, and I am grateful that you told me. I doubt that Phantom Lord will attack today. Here at Fairy Tail we take life a day at a time. I recommend you do the same."

A small smile crept onto Lucy's lips. "Thank you, master," she whispered, feeling ease flood her body. "That… helped."

Makarov raised his hand, giving the blonde vampire a thumbs-up. "Of course, my child," he grinned, lowering his hand again. Clearing his throat, he finished by saying, "Now, as I said yesterday, run along! I still have paperwork to do!" The last part of his sentence came out as an irritated whine. Like a child realizing how much homework they have.

Getting up, Lucy giggled. This place was wonderful.

She quickly walked down the wooden stairs, making her way to the guild's main hall. The hall was already lively, familiar and unfamiliar faces crowding the room. At one of the round tables, Mira sat, talking to a rather large man, who seemed to be some to be some kind ogre, just missing the ugly part. They looked oddly similar, both fairly beautiful, although he kept yelling about 'manliness' and whatnot. Lucy came to a conclusion that they were siblings. At another table, Levy sat, reading a book. In front of her, a small, black cat – an exceed? – was curled up, watching her fiercely.

Many other tables were inhabited, but by creatures Lucy had yet to meet. The thought of new relations made her stomach flutter with both excitement and fear.

"Luce!" Lucy snapped her head around to see Natsu leaned up against the bar, talking to a smaller fairy looking girl. Lucy sucked in a short breath, begging that she didn't catch the scent of young girl.

As she made it to the bar, she smiled at Natsu, uncertainty in her eyes.

"Luce, this is my little sis, Wendy!" he introduced, making the younger looking girl flustered as she waved.

"Wait- you didn't tell me you had a sister!" Lucy scolded, eying the siblings, trying to find any similarities. The only thing that was at least a small indicator that they were related, was the fact that both of them had brightly colored hair - just not in the same color. Wendy had midnight blue hair hanging loosely down her shoulders, while Natsu had pink - or salmon as he insisted - spikes, messily covering his head. The other thing was the fact that Wendy held a small white Exceed. The Exceed looked at least as adorable as Happy, but a little more reserved as it shied away from touch.

Natsu shrugged, resting his arm on Wendy's head. Wendy looked annoyed by that action.

"Well, ya never asked?" he tried, his arm getting pushed off the small fairies head.

"Our mom was a fairy, and I got that gene!" Wendy beamed, scratching the Exceeds head. Sky blue wings floated peacefully on her back. Lucy tried her best to ignore the 'was' part. No child that young should be parentless. "And our dad was werewolf!"

Natsu placed his thumb against his chest. "And I got the awesome werewolf gene!" Wendy nudged his side with a small giggle.

Lucy giggled at Natsu's enthusiasm. "That's probably why I couldn't tell you guys are related," she smiled, placing a hand on Wendy's head. "After all, you are _so_ adorable!" Wendy's face turned a bright pink as she buried her head in her Exceeds fur.

"Hey, that's unfair! I can be pretty darn cute too!" Natsu argued, puffing out his cheeks as he crossed his arms.

"Of course," Lucy nodded patronizingly, making Natsu pout. In reality, she did found the werewolf 'darn cute', but in a different way than Wendy. Of course, she would never admit that, so she masked it behind her teasing. She would forever be grateful that she wasn't able to blush.

"Hey, Natsu, you guys leaving soon?" an unknown voice said. Lucy turned to the creature behind the voice, being met by yet another beautiful fairy. Instead of Mira being behind the bar, a beautiful mini-version of her was standing in her spot. The guild was called Fairy Tail, yet she just a hadn't expected there to be so many… fairies. Lucy immediately saw the similarities the younger fairy had with Mira. They were definitely siblings.

"Yo, Lisanna," Natsu greeted, waving with a grin spread across his face. Said Lisanna placed a milkshake in front of Wendy, who sat on a bar stool. Natsu gestured to Lucy, "You've met Lucy? She's our new member. We're going on a mission in-" he glanced up at the clock above the bar. "…20 minutes!?"

"Nice to meet you!" Lisanna beamed, extending her hand towards Lucy. Lucy plastered on a smile, shaking the fairy's hand.

The three girls immediately fell into conversation, both Wendy and Lisanna congratulated her on becoming a member. None of the brought up the fact that she was a vampire, which Lucy was grateful for. They did, however, take turns explaining what kind of fairy they were. Wendy was a sky fairy, specializing in magic with wind and energy, but could do other basic fairy stuff as well. Lisanna was a forest fairy, great around animals and could even transform into some smaller ones.

For a few more moments their conversation went on, until Natsu decided to jump in.

"Lucy, we gotta go!" Natsu reminded her, tugging lightly at the cloak Lucy wore. "Erza will have our head in 15 minutes!"

Lucy rolled her eyes. She highly doubted that Erza would actually harm them.

"It was nice to meet both of you!" Lucy smiled at Lisanna and Wendy as Natsu impatiently tugged at Lucy's arm. The two fairies waved goodbye to the duo, giggling as Natsu basically dragged Lucy out of the guild.

* * *

"What the hell do you mean that stripper is going with us?" Natsu angrily exclaimed. As the duo had arrived on the station, they were met by not only Erza, but also Gray. For some reason, Erza thought it would be a good idea to bring him. Lucy wasn't one to complain. She still was not liked by the yeti-creature, so she kept a low profile.

It was 10:55 am - exactly five minutes before Erza would have 'chopped their heads off'. After the small chat with Wendy, and Lisanna, Natsu had all but dragged Lucy to the station. Erza was an intimidating but sweet girl, but for some reason, Natsu was terrified of her. Lucy had yet to see why. The station was lively, people running to reach their trains, camping on the benches, and taking shelter from the sharp sun.

"I'm not a fucking strip-" Gray started, just as angry as Natsu, but was cut off by Erza.

"Do you have a problem you would like to address, Natsu?" Erza asked firmly, cocking one eyebrow up.

Natsu crossed his arms. "He was mean to Lucy," he snarled. Lucy was quick to say that everything was alright, but Natsu jumped in, adding, "He's gonna scare the children with his stupid stripping habit!"

It took only seconds for Natsu's face to show regret. His tan skin seemed to pale as the scarlet-haired woman stepped closer to him. Her eyes looked like they could kill if you looked directly into them, and Lucy couldn't help but let out a silent giggle under her cloak.

"What was that, Natsu?" she asked, Natsu trembling under her gaze.

"Y-ya know what? The st- Gray can come!" he stuttered, waving his hands in front of himself defensively. Behind Erza, Gray stuck his tongue out at Natsu. Gasping, Natsu pointed to the half-naked man. "ERZA! He just stuck his tongue out at me! _And_ he's stripping!"

Erza didn't flinch. "I'm scolding you right now," she reminded him, but soon after, she turned to Gray. "Gray, your clothes -" Gray quickly began to search for his clothes, as Erza flipped her head back to Natsu. "Natsu, behave, and -" she turned to Lucy, who Natsu was hiding behind. "We're all happy to accompany you on your first mission!" she finished with a smile.

Lucy was taken aback by the sudden change in mood. "I'm glad as well!" Was her only response.

Clasping her hands together, Erza announced, "Alright, let's board."

The group began to enter the train, but Natsu was gloomily walking behind them.

"Ughhh, why can't we walk?" Natsu whined as he was dragged onto the train by Erza.

The train ride was interesting to say the least. Lucy quickly figured out that Natsu had lied. He hadn't eaten something bad, in fact, he was suffering from motion sickness. _Severe_ motion sickness. Apparently everyone in his family was suffering from it, except for Wendy and their mother for some reason.

As they slowly trundled through Fiore, Natsu was whining and squirming in the seat besides Lucy, Happy napping in her lap. Gray and Erza were sitting across the trio, not batting not batting an eyelid at the werewolves antics. It seemed this was something they had dealt with - a lot.

"So Lucy," Erza said, catching the attention of the vampire. Lucy still wore her cloak, but with her hood hanging around her neck. As they had entered the train, Erza had been quick to pull down the curtains, much to Lucy's delight. "How old are you, if I may ask?"

Before she could even answer, Erza quickly added, "Feel free to punch me if you feel I have hurt your honor."

Lucy mentally face-palmed. "N-no, need for that! I'm 18," she smiled awkwardly. Under her cloak, she was fiddling her thumbs. She knew for a fact that if this conversation continued, she'd have to bring up how long she had been a vampire. And honestly? She was not feeling up for the conversation. Sure, she had been saying the same thing for the past month, but she still wasn't feeling up for it.

However, it seemed as if Erza picked up on that. She nodded knowingly as she said, "Then you are just a year younger than me," she smiled, placing her hands on her knees.

"If you don't mind me asking," Lucy started, running her hand over Happy's soft fur. "What kind of creatures are you? I know Natsu's a werewolf, Mira, Lisanna, and Wendy are fairies, Levy is a witch, and Master is a giant. I'm just curious is all!" She half considered adding Erza's comment about them being welcome to punch her if she hurt their honor, but to be honest, she knew she'd be pulp if they took her up on her offer.

Erza shook her head. "I don't mind at all," she promised, leaning back in her seat. "I'm a demigod. So, my father was a human, while my mother is, or was - I'm not sure - a goddess. Irene. You might have heard of her?"

Lucy nodded. Though gods and goddesses were mere myths between humans, their names and specialties were no secrets. Irene, the goddess of fighting. In the legends, she was seen as cruel and cold-hearted towards anyone who neared her. She would always seek war, and only help out mortals, whose intentions were destruction. It was said in one of the legends, that she did fall in love with a human, but none of the them mentioned a daughter, but it made sense considering it was _legends_ after all.

"I see," Lucy commented, smiling flustered as she asked, "Does that g-grant you any mythical powers?" She mentally cursed at herself for stuttering. Perhaps it was just her hunger making her uneasy? Or just the fact that Erza could probably beat her up without flinching?

Chuckling lightly at the blondes curiosity, Erza nodded. Gray sighed discreetly - not wanting to anger Erza - supposedly already knowing the answers.

"Maybe not as a fairy or a witch, but my abilities include inhuman strength as well as the warrior training my mother taught me," she replied somewhat darkly. Remembering the tales of Irene's cruelness, Lucy doubted Erza's past was bright, so she decided to leave the demigod alone.

"That's exciting," Lucy complimented, trying to keep her voice steady. Just now, she remembered the fact that she was hungry, and almost slapped herself for remembering. She still needed to find a way to feed. Pushing back her hunger the best she could, she added, "I can't wait to see that in action."

It was the demigod's turn to become flustered, a rosy tint painting her cheeks. With a smile, Erza said, "Thank you. I take great pride in my fighting as it is the decedent of a goddess."

Lucy nodded, turning her head towards the window. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Gray mirroring her actions. For a moment, she thought about asking Gray about his powers as well, but lost courage pretty quickly. She didn't want to lose the small amount of respect he had for her just now. However, he seemed to be able to read her mind.

"I'm an Izling," Gray suddenly said, catching the attention of both the blonde and the demigod. For once, he made eye-contact with her as he said, "It's a species from up north. We're basically the decedent of some Yeti breeding with a snow fairy, and after generations, we became an Izling."

Feeling daring, Lucy asked, "Do you have any like… ice or snow powers?" She almost felt stupid for asking, but it had already left her lips.

Smirking at the question - the first smile that he had directed to her - he answered, "Well, yeah. I can create ice out of nothing, make it snow, and I thrive the best in cold areas. That being said, my powers does come with a limit. When I'm close to that limit, I need to go back to the north and recharge. I will die if I don't."

Lucy nodded stiffly, feeling the dark mood, which Gray had set, reach her. Before she could react to his sentence, Natsu fell into her lap with a whine. Happy quickly jumped out of the way, landing up the blonde's shoulder, hissing at Natsu.

"Lushee, I'm - ugh! - dying!" Natsu wheezed, grasping his stomach as he curled up in her lap. "Heeelp m-me."

"Way to steal my thunder, Ashbreath," Gray grumbled, but a smirk soon reached his lips as he glanced at the werewolf with an amused expression. Natsu just groaned in response.

"Interesting," Erza mused, placing her hand on her chin.

"What's… interesting?" she asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"Well, Natsu usually just… rides of the pain," Erza explained, crossing her armored arms. "It's highly unusual for him to rely on others for help. He must trust you a great deal."

Suddenly Lucy felt flustered, almost forgetting her whole vocabulary. "I'm sure this isn't the first time," she protested quietly, earning an eye-roll from Gray. "And I've haven't even known him a whole week. He can't trust me that much."

"Sure, sure, and Natsu and I are best buds," Gray snickered, his tone actually sounding friendly.

"Well, I'm sure Natsu doesn't really like to be talked about as if he isn't here," Natsu grumbled right before emptying his stomach into the plastic bag he was given.

Lucy couldn't help to smile at the weak werewolf in her lap. Gently, she stroked his pink hair, turning her gaze to the landscape outside.

Before she knew it, her hunger was forgotten. For now.

* * *

As they had met up with the mayor of the town, the mission had been laid out pretty smoothly. Catch some thugs, bring them in, and make sure to keep the good mood throughout the festival. The thugs wore a logo of a raven on them somewhere, so that had been a lead to look out for.

Lucy had remained quiet the whole time, letting the others do the talking. She did, however, taken mental notes of how they had spoken to the mayor. There had been times where she had to tell Natsu to quit being rude, though. To that, he had just pouted.

And now, they were out on their mission, walking around the festival like normal citizens, watching out for suspicious behavior.

The bright lights from the lanterns and torches almost blinded Lucy. It was as if she was recovering from a bad hangover. Everything was either too loud, to bright, or too hunger-inducing. She could hear every single person at the festival talking. It wasn't just their voices, but also their conversation. Their voices were layered on top of each other, and she could barely hear her own thoughts, let alone the people talking to her directly.

But one word stood out to her the most.

 _Feed_.

No. Not only that, but _kill_. She needed every little ounce of blood she could.

 _Feed, feed, feed_.

It was like a chanting, and she wasn't sure if it was her own thoughts or not. Now, she was sure she was going crazy.

She was tensely leaned up against a wall in Clover Towns plaza. It was a pentagon shaped area, booths and tents against every wall. Long strings of fairy lights hung over the plaza, creating a cozy atmosphere.

That was, if a predator wasn't on the loose. Lucy was trying to watch out for suspicious behavior, but in real life she wasn't. She was using every ounce of energy to keep herself composed. The plaza was filled to rim. Whether it was tents with small booths in, or loud, drunk people - it didn't matter. It was filled to brim. And Lucy was getting more hungry by the second.

On the other side of the plaza, Natsu was standing, chowing down a caramelized apple by a booth, Happy happily watching from his shoulder. Erza and Gray had taken the smaller plaza a few blocks away.

For some reason, Lucy was happy that they decided to split up. That way none of them would notice how tense she was. How her breathing was sharp and desperate, and how her black eyes would appear every other minute. Despite all of that, she felt somewhat in control.

That was, until someone bumped into her. All the energy that she had used to keep herself composed left her as she watched the stranger, who had bumped into her, walk hastily away from the crowd.

Unwillingly, her body began to follow him. It was as if her mind was in haze. She didn't care if she killed him. The moment he had bumped into her, was the moment he laid out his faith. He was going to be her next meal, and adrenaline already pumped through her veins.

Through her hazy state, she glared over at Natsu, who had squatted down to talk to some kids. He was happily talking to them, making them laugh as he made silly faces at them. He was too busy to notice her leave.

Good.

And then she disappeared into the crowd of people.

* * *

Not only did Natsu know something was wrong, but he knew that he couldn't let Gray and Erza know.

Frantically, he began sniffing out Lucy. He knew from the moment they split up, that he should have gone with her. Every time he would look at her, she would look away, trying to hide her hungry eyes. Her eyes hadn't even been black, but he knew that she knew that he could look right through her lies. She hadn't been hungry, no. The right word would be starving. The way that she shied away from people that weren't himself just proved that point.

Knowing that Happy could take care of himself, he had let his small, feline friend enjoy the festival by himself. No need to worry the Exceed.

As he began to walk through the streets of Clover Town, he tried not to turn too much attention to himself. He was half-running after all, but he needed to find Lucy before someone got hurt, and before she would hate herself even more.

Natsu hadn't known Lucy for that long, but he did know, however, how guilty she felt every time she felt her own hunger. She was very secretive and mysterious, but that could just be her vampirism speaking.

He caught on to her scent. She was close.

His steps became faster, and soon he was running past the stands and booths, not caring that people was looking at him as he ran. The only thing that was remotely calming was the fact that he couldn't pick up any scent of blood.

If the streets hadn't been so populated, it would have looked suspicious that he took a sharp right turn, running directly into a creepy-ass alley, probably leading to the slums of the city. Of course Lucy would have picked this place. No one was there to see, and maybe just maybe, she could try to convince herself that it didn't happen.

The roof tiles were dripping with water despite it not raining, and the only light around here was the lamps and candles shining through the window of the slum.

Her scent was close to him. The narrow alleyways, almost shaped like a labyrinth, confused his nose to no end.

He ran for a few more seconds, before he took another sharp turn, meeting a dead end where his vampire friend was cradling a struggling man. He wasn't bleeding, which was a good sign. The bad sign was how carefree she looked. One wrong movement from the poor man's side, and he would be dead. Gone. And for the time being, Lucy wouldn't care. She wouldn't care until she wasn't hungry anymore. And by then, she would be a mess again.

Lifting her head, Lucy met Natsu's onyx eyes with her coal-black ones. "Leave me, Natsu," she hissed. The unfriendliness of her voice only made the situation so much more difficult than it already was. The girl in front of him wasn't his friend. It was a hungry vampire, who Natsu had to stop.

The man in her arms whimpered, seeking help from the pink-haired werewolf. He looked as if he was in his late twenties, wearing a tank top, and a pair of loose pants. Judging by his shaking and crying, he was scared as fuck. But then again, who wouldn't almost shit their pants if they were about to be vampire food?

Lucy, however, was a different story. Her eyes were black, and her fangs were out. She seemed to be scared as well, but in a different way. As if she was scared of herself. Scared of what she might do, because her hunger had become so intense that it was out of her control. But that fear was hidden behind the hunger. Because the hunger was stronger than the fear.

Natsu knew that feeling well. Every full moon was a reminder of what destruction he was capable of. He didn't have a count of the people he had hurt - if not, killed - and he didn't want to know. After all, he didn't remember any of it.

Natsu took as step closer to Lucy, who automatically backed away. She had her one arm around he man's neck, the other one in a death grip around his arm, as if he was the most precious thing she owned.

"Can't do, Luce," Natsu muttered, trying to sound as soft as he could. Behind the blonde vampire was a dead end. Natsu had cornered her. "Just… put the guy down, alright? I know you are hungry, but-"

As he stepped one step closer to her, she lunged forwards, her arm slamming into his chest, making him fly into the stone wall behind him. A pain shot through his back as he dented the wall, falling to his knees. A cry left his throat as he took off with his hands, panting as he realized that he was dealing with a _hangry_ vampire.

Before he could even get up, he heard her sniffle. Was she crying? His suspicions were confirmed as he smelt the salt.

"Please just… please just _leave_!" she yelled, grabbing the man tighter. Natsu was immediately alarmed as he heard a choked sob leave the man. Jumping to his feet again, he took a careful step forward. Again, Lucy backed away, almost standing up against the wall of the dead end.

"Luce, you're hurting him," he said firmly, done playing nice. He could apologize later. In his life in Fairy Tail, he had committed himself to helping other people. Even if it meant having to pry a man out of his friend's grasp. "Lucy. Ya _don't_ wanna to do this."

For a moment he noticed the uncertainty in her eyes. It was clear to him that she was having an internal battle. Her rational side knew that what she was doing was wrong, but the hungry and irrational self didn't give a shit. That side didn't care as long as she fed from that man.

"I… can't," she whispered, loosening the grip around the man slightly. Not enough for him to be free, but enough for Natsu to see that she was considering his words.

"Yes, you can," he encouraged, raising his hands in front of himself, signaling that he was no threat. "Just let go. We'll figure it out."

Her whole body trembled as she stared at him. Natsu was aware of the immense pain vampires experienced when they hungry, but he hadn't even considered that she had been in so much pain. She was starving after all.

Biting her lip, her fangs dug into her own skin. He could tell that she was about to break. About to let go of the man, who had been confusedly sobbing through their whole conversation. She needed just one last push, and Natsu knew exaltedly what he had to say. And it pained him to no end.

"Ya can't kill again," he exclaimed firmly, his heart cracking as he saw her coal-black eyes turn brown, fresh tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. "You'll just feel like shit. All over again."

And with that, the man fell to the ground. He was quick to scramble away, crawling on all fours in desperation. He didn't get far though, sitting in the corner of the alleyway, curling up as he sobbed. Natsu didn't blame him. It had been a traumatic experience after all.

And Lucy… she was slowly realizing what had just happened. How she had been so close to killing, again. Suddenly, she dropped to her knees, punching the dirty ground with a clenched fist. Through her gritted teeth, she let out a low yell. Natsu couldn't tell whether it was from pain or fear of what she could've done.

A frown appeared on his face as he walked towards her, squatting down to her level. He had never been a good comforter, but he was learning. Plus, Erza would kick his ass if she knew he wasn't comforting someone in distress. And this was Lucy. How was he supposed _not_ to comfort her? He had only known her for a few days, but she was… something. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but she was special to him.

At first, her placed a gently hand on her blonde head, trying to bring her to look at him, but as he realized that wouldn't help, he draped an arm around her shaking body, dragging her closer to him. For the first few seconds, she tensed up, but as she realized she was safe, she relaxed into the hug, encircling his waist with her arms as she cried into his chest.

For a few moments, the two of them sat in the alleyway, and the only sounds being heard were the distant noise of the people at the festival, Lucy's sobs, and the man's confused crying in the corner of the alleyway.

"Lucy," he murmured softly. His grip around her was secure, not only to comfort her, but also to keep her from running away again. As her glazy eyes met his, he insisted, "Feed from me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be honest, this is not my favorite chapter I have ever written. I liked the ending, but it wasn't so much fun to write. But I'm really excited about the next few chapters. Things will heat up!
> 
> And ohh! Will Lucy feed from Natsu? Let's see ;)
> 
> Until next time!
> 
> PS. I might take a little more time with the next chapter because I'm trying to get a few chapters ahead, as I was in the start of the story, but it won't take more than 1-1.5 weeks.
> 
> If you liked the chapter or have criticism, don't be scared to leave a review! It's what makes me keep writing! c:


	6. Strike One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, everyone!
> 
> I know I said it would take me 1-1.5 weeks to update because I wanted to get ahead of things, but I finished this chapter early and got really excited about it ahaha.
> 
> Again, big thanks to Animenerdd8 on FFNET for betaing this week's chapter! I really appreciate it, pal! c:
> 
> Well, I hope you enjoy this chapter! I really am proud of it!

* * *

 

" _Lucy," he murmured softly. His grip around her was secure, not only to comfort her, but also to keep her from running away again. As her glazy eyes met his, he insisted, "Feed from me."_

* * *

At that moment, time stopped. She knew that this was the only way for her brain to stop its train of thoughts; her body's pain; and most importantly, her hunger. She also knew that his blood would taste disgusting, but the fear of not being able to stop herself was still lingering in the back of her mind. Her hunger, however, couldn't care less about that fear.

And for the first time, Lucy heard his pulse as she did with everyone else. It was a pulse that was sending ounces upon ounces of blood through his body, ready for her to feed. His scent was the same as before, but she didn't care. She was so fucking hungry.

As he was holding her trembling self close, she pulled back a bit, looking at him with uncertain eyes. They weren't black, but God, they were hungry.

"Luce, feed from me," he repeated, his expression serious as he pulled off his scarf, positioning his neck. It was only now that Lucy realized that Natsu always wore the same white, scaly scarf. He was never without it, except for now - when she was about to feed off of him. "I'll be alright. You know this."

The man, who was still lying sobbing in the corner, let out a whimper, letting them know that he was still there. However, both of them ignored him.

"Please," Natsu pleaded, throwing his scarf to the side. Lucy eyed it as it fell gracefully to the dirty ground, somehow staying miraculously clean. "Please, Lucy."

As she clenched her eyes together, she felt a tear fall from her eye as both of them turned black. A sharp pain shot through her gums as long fangs appeared, making her hiss slightly.

Meeting his onyx eyes, her own black eyes looked at him as if she was asking permission, giving him a chance to change his mind, but all he did was cock his head further to the side, signaling that he was ready when she was.

She took a deep breath, his scent tingling her nostrils.

Then she sank her teeth into him, taking a reluctant sip of his blood. At first, her taste buds went crazy, screaming at her to stop drinking that god-forsaken-wolf-blood, but she fought to ignore it and keep going. His taste burned her tongue, almost making her gag as the flavor of rubbing alcohol and mold hit her taste buds.

Her hands were tightly fisted his vest as her mouth was filled with his blood once again. She clenched her eyes further together, scrunching her nose at his taste, but kept going. This time, her tongue had grown used to the taste, allowing his blood to smoothly glide down her throat.

And with ease, as if she had fed hundreds of thousands of times, she pulled back, licking the remains of his blood off of her lips. Her hand made its way to her own neck, and she almost moaned at how good she felt. All the pain had been pushed away, and her throat that had been raw and burning was quickly soothing itself. She sighed, bumping her head against Natsu's shoulder as placed his hand on her back, gently rubbing in circles.

For a few moments, she just sat there, her head against his shoulder, breathing deeply. She felt anew. Sure, there was still a bit of hunger left, but Gajeel's words about 'routine' calmed her. She would be okay. She would get it under control.

As she raised her head again, she met Natsu's eyes. He grinned at her. A woozy grin, but a grin nonetheless.

Quickly, while her fangs were still out, she put her wrist to her lips, biting down. A sharp pain spread through her arm and hand, but she ignored it the best she could. Her own blood flooded from the wound as she held it to his mouth. "Your turn," she muttered, an insistent look on her face. He looked at her bleeding wrist with confusion painted over his face, but her stern eyes left no room for discussion.

Cautiously, he pressed his lips to her wound, sipping her metallic blood. After a few sips, he pulled back. Tilting his head, he waited for an answer, but the healing bite-mark on his neck said it all.

"Vampire blood can heal," she explained with a small smile. She lapped up the remains of her own blood, wincing at the metallic taste. Her own wound was close to healed as well. "It's what I used… beforehand."

He nodded understandingly, rubbing the spot she had bit him. "Feelin' better?" he asked with a cocky smile.

She swallowed the lump in her throat as she nodded. Something about him made her nervous. Not scared, but nervous. "Y-yeah, it was… it was good."

"So ya admit it?"

"Admit what?"

A devilish grin formed on his lips. "That werewolf blood is the shit?"

Snorting, she playfully hit his chest, feeling her strength slowly returning. "Yeah, it's _shit_ ," she laughed as he pouted, but a small chuckle escaped his lips soon after. Stifling her laughter, she sighed, "No, but, seriously… thank you. I feel better. I don't know what I'd done if-" she stopped herself as she realized her almost-prey still sat panicking in the corner.

Natsu caught on to that, nodding his head towards the man. "What're we gonna do about him?"

Placing a finger on her chin, she thought for a moment, not wanting to risk getting arrested (and then executed) because some man ran his tongue. Then she remembered…

"I think I have something in mind," she stated, making Natsu tilt his head.

"Oh yeah?"

Lucy smirked, pointing a finger at her eye. "Mind control."

* * *

It had been a few days since the mission. After the feeding incident, they had met up with Erza and Gray, who insisted that only intimidating words were used to make one of the thugs reveal their base. Lucy, however, didn't believe that it had only been intimidation that had been used, judging by the fact that one of the thugs was roughed up, to say the least.

The guy that Lucy had been about to feed from, and use mind control on, had turned out to be one of the thugs they had to capture, which led to Natsu had congratulated Lucy for capturing one of them. Lucy had smacked his forehead, telling him it was just a coincidence. Natsu thought Lucy sold herself short. Lucy thought Natsu was an idiot.

After wiping his memory, which Natsu was highly mesmerized by, they turned him in with the rest of the thugs.

But all in all, Lucy was proud to say that her first mission had been a success. Despite the few bumps, Lucy felt optimistic. Sharing the reward, the four creatures had received 40.000 Jewels each, which hadn't been spent in vain.

Lucy walked out of her bathroom, hair in a towel turban, wearing a new set of clothes. A white, poofy crop-top embraced her body lightly, stopping just above her navel. Light denim shorts were held up by a thin leather belt, her house keys fastened in one of the belt hoops of the shorts. Too bad she was going to cover her cute as heck outfit up with a cloak soon.

Turning her gaze to her newly bought bed, she sighed, irritated, as she saw _who_ was in her room.

Natsu Dragneel, the intruder himself, was lying in her bed, scrunching his face up at the book he held, trying to decipher the words. Happy was happily exploring her drawers, soon making himself comfortable on top of her folded underwear.

"What," Lucy hissed, walking up to the werewolf, and grabbing the book in his hands. "Are you doing in my room?"

The book had been a welcoming gift from Levy. As Lucy had announced that she was going decor shopping after the sun went down, the small witch had excitedly _demanded_ that she had to go as well. The two of them had then spent a good portion of Lucy's money, buying a new bed, desk and chair, clothes, and of course, a few books. After that, she was left with the smallest amount of money.

Having her whole room furnished (or as furnished it could get with the amount of money she was working with) made Lucy eternally happy. Maybe it was from her years of growing up in a fully furnished mansion, she didn't know, but she really enjoyed having material possessions. It made things less lonely.

The bad thing was that her now comfortable room attracted unwanted guests. Or maybe not unwanted, just unexpected.

"Stop being grumpy, and appreciate me!" Natsu joked, sitting upright in her bed. Stretching, he asked, "Wanna go to the guild?"

Lucy placed a finger on her chin, humming as she thought. She was leaning against her wooden dresser, picking up Happy, so he didn't dirty her new underwear. Despite being removed from his sleeping spot, the Exceed purred in content, as she scratched his head.

"I was actually thinking of staying in and relaxing a bit today," she confessed, almost feeling sorry when the werewolf pouted.

As the days went on, she felt more and more comfortable at the guild. Not only had she gotten closer to the creatures she already knew, despite the short period of time they knew each other, but she had also gotten to know new creatures.

Late at night, when they had returned from their mission, she had been introduced to a few creatures. Cana, for an instance, was one of the late night visitors. She was a young Tiefling, around Lucy's age, if not a little older. Horns, tail, and a purplish skin gave her away. To say she had a problem with alcohol was an understatement, but the others had told her to ignore it. Lucy was sure that Cana was the main source of income at that place.

Another thing she learned, was that Cana was Mira's girlfriend, which probably would explain why she spent so much time at the bar specifically - either because of her girlfriend or for the booze. Lucy hoped it was for her girlfriend.

A shocking fact she learned was that Mira wasn't an ordinary fairy, but a demonic fairy. At first, she didn't believe it, but Natsu told her _not_ to get on her bad side.

Beside Cana, Lucy got to know Elfman, a real macho-macho hybrid fairy, and Qunari - explaining is un-ugly ogre appearance - called a Crulk. Lucy decided that that name described Elfman pretty well, since it was kind of bulky, like him! Of course, it was meant in a good way.

She met many other creatures like Asuka - an adorable toddler - and her parents, Alzack and Bisca. The three of them were all elves but missed that point that elves usually use bow and arrows, and were gun enthusiasts. She met Jet and Droy as well. The two of them were both love-sick idiots, always fighting for Levy's attention. Jet was a breed of the elf-kind, called a Wairn. Wairns were extremely fast and strong, despite their slim build. Droy was a nature witch, having a natural green thumb, and able to manipulate plants at his will.

As well as meeting all of the new creatures, she chatted with Levy a lot more. The two of them really clicked, and Lucy learned that she had a black Exceed called Lily, whom she found in the woods. He already had a name tag when she found him, but the owner hadn't shown up after weeks of searching for them. So she kept him.

Snapping out of her thoughts, she noticed Natsu giving her a fierce glare, somehow trying to make her change her mind. Setting Happy on the ground, he quickly found a new sleeping spot.

Lucy returned the glare, showing that she wasn't giving in. At this point, she had already forgotten what they were talking about, but for some reason, she wanted to win this contest.

"But I'm hungryyyy," he whined, crashing back down onto her bed dramatically. Lucy swore that sometimes she even wondered if he was an actual child. "And ya don't have any food."

_Oh, right, going to Fairy Tail._

Mimicking his dramatic action, she 'crashed' down on her chair, sarcastically whining, "Me too~" It was meant as a joke, but she couldn't say that she wasn't hungry.

After all, Gajeel had basically demanded her to feed every day, which she had kind of, kind of not done. Natsu had insisted on her feeding the day after the mission. She had quickly told him that it wasn't necessary, but he was stubborn, so she gave in and fed. The day after that, he had luckily forgotten, and consequently, Lucy grew a tad hungry, feeling the burning sensation every now and then, but it wasn't anything like the first few days at Fairy Tail.

Speaking of Gajeel, Lucy had lived in constant fear of the supposed attack from Phantom Lord. When she wasn't surrounded by friends, she would pace around her room, worrying about what the hell she was supposed to do. Was she just going to fight? With no training? Sure, she had her vampire instincts, but an elite vampire guild was something even instincts couldn't fight.

Natsu cocked his head. "You hungry?" he asked, eying her. There was no point in hiding her hunger since he for some reason could see through her anyway. As she nodded, he said, "Ya know, all you have to do is ask."

"I'm not just going to ask if I can feed from you," she argued, crossing her arms. "It feels wrong."

And it did. Usually, she had fed from bypassers. Unlucky citizens, who had to live with the memory. For some reason, that way of feeding had been ingrained into her mind as the right way. Feeding from a friend felt… like stealing. It was upside-down logic, but her hunter's brain told her that was right.

"But I don't mind," he argued back, his words almost rolling over his tongue like the beginning of a song. When her expression didn't soften, he sighed, "It's ya way of surviving. I'm doing good deeds here!"

She couldn't help but giggle at his comment. He was really just trying to make her feel better.

Clearing her throat, she murmured shyly, "Natsu, are you sure? I mean, doesn't it hurt like hell?"

Natsu just shrugged. "Nah. It's not so bad. It feels kinda funny though."

Lucy scrunched her nose, not liking the fact that it felt 'funny'. But of course, it probably wasn't the worst pain in the world. After all, her death had been from feeding. If she hadn't been so scared, it probably would have been less painful. She didn't recall it feeling 'funny', but Natsu was weird like that.

As he noticed her uncertainty, he just grinned. "Alright, what about this…" He placed his hand on his chin before proposing, "You feed from me until ya find another way to feed. That's a pretty good deal if I say so myself."

She leaned back in her chair, feeling a slight burning sensation in her throat. If she fed, she would be more prepared for whenever the attack would take place. And she would feel more at ease.

After thinking for a few moments, she nodded. "Alright. I'll feed from you, but I'll buy you a meal every time I feed from you. Is that okay?"

"Heck yeah, free food!" he exclaimed, pumping a fist in the air.

"It's not free if you're paying with your blood," she deadpanned. She had intended to sound jokingly creepy, but as the sentence had left her lips, she realized that it actually just sounded plain creepy.

"Yeah, yeah, same thing," he brushed it off, displaying his tan forearm in front of her. "Dig in!"

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Don't say it like that! It's not a buffet, it's your blood."

Kneeling down in front of Natsu, she gently picked up his forearm in her hands. As with the first time she fed from him, she felt his pulse underneath her fingertips. It was his blood, pumping through his veins. Except right now, this was food, not Natsu's blood.

Soon after, she felt her eyes grow tighter, and her gums stung as her fangs grew out. She still had to get used to that.

"That looks so fucking cool every time it happens," he commented with a smirk.

"Sh-shut up!" Lucy squeaked before digging into his arm. Thank the heavens for her pulseless self…

Soon, his blood filled her mouth, her tongue protesting as usual, but her hunger relieving the feel of the warm blood. She felt him tense up under her, so she quickly loosened her bite, hoping it would ease him a bit.

His blood smoothly ran over her tongue, her hunger dulling by the second. After a few gulps, she got used to his taste, gently sipping his blood until she felt herself growing somewhat full. She hadn't felt properly satisfied since turning, which almost made her stop feeding. But not yet. She needed the extra strength.

Being a vampire came with the very convenient ability to know when their prey didn't have any more blood. Lucy was very wary of keeping Natsu way above that limit, so after a few more mouthfuls, she pulled back.

Licking her lips to clear the remaining blood, a pang of guilt hit her when she saw how woozy and fatigued he looked. "Sorry," she mumbled worriedly, moving her wrist to her mouth to bite open, but Natsu stopped her before she could.

"Don't apologize, weirdo," he grinned, examining his wound. "I kinda wanna keep this. It looks badass!"

Lucy rolled her eyes. "No way, werewolf boy," she laughed, biting her wrist open. Blood soon dripped from her wrist, and she quickly caught the red droplets with her other hand, not wanting to stain the carpet. Still kneeling on the ground, she raised her wrist towards him. "Drink up!"

He let out an incoherent grumble as he placed his lips around the wound, drinking the healing substance. As he pulled away, the open wound on his forearm quickly closed up, leaving nothing but dried blood.

Despite his earlier protests, he inspected his healed arm and grinned. "Nice! Now let's go!" he exclaimed, once again pumping a fist through the air as he jumped up. As she tilted her head in confusion, he added, "To the guild. Ya owe me a free meal, Luce~" His words were mocking, which Lucy rolled her eyes at. She just remembered how big Natsu's meals were. She made a huge mistake, and her wallet was already crying.

Sighing, she stood up. "Fine, fine," despite acting annoyed, she felt better after feeding. "Let me just grab my cloak, then we can go."

"I'll take the window!" he declared, opening it as he slid himself over the windowsill.

"You'll do no such thing!" she yelled after him, but as she turned around, he had already jumped, yelling at her to hurry up.

* * *

"You should have seen his face," Natsu laughed, throwing his head back. Happy, who was resting on his shoulder, mewled in protest at the sudden movement, but stayed on anyway. "And that's why I'm apparently not allowed behind the bar again."

Lucy giggled at his anecdote. "Well, I wouldn't allow you back there either, if I was in charge!"

Natsu's lips slid into a pout. "You're supposed to be on my side."

"Says who?" she laughed under her cloak.

"Says me!" he argued, to which Lucy dared to reach out from her cloak to teasingly push him.

Since the weather was so good, they had decided to take a detour through Magnolia park on their way to the guild. Despite Lucy not being able to enjoy the sunlight it was still nice to observe it under her cloak.

Everything was still in bloom, although the heat would soon only leave the green of the trees, and dry out the flowers. Only a few clouds painted the blue sky. The temperature was high, which wasn't very surprising since it was in the middle of June.

Speaking of heat, Lucy gazed up at Natsu's neck. The white, scaly scarf still hung around his neck, completing his appearance. It looked awfully hot though.

"Hey, Natsu," she called, catching the attention of the pink-haired werewolf. "Why do you always wear that scarf? It's not that it doesn't look good, I mean it looks _good_." She internally cursed at herself for putting pressure on 'good'. "I mean not like in a creepy way 'good', but it looks… it suits you. What was I saying?"

To her rambling, Natsu snickered. "Why, Lucy, if I'm not wrong, ya just gave me a compliment."

Lucy groaned, smacking her forehead. Natsu just laughed, shaking his head.

"Well, I got it from my old man before he passed," he explained, a hidden sadness behind his words. Lucy's eyes softened as he lightly clenched the fabric around his neck. "He knew how much I love dragons so he gave it kinda like a dragon-ish look." Lucy nodded, remembering his enthusiasm for Happy being half dragon.

"This way he's always with me," he finished. He still held his scarf in his hand as he looked towards the sky with a smile. His gaze was filled with sadness at the thought of his father, but also the remembrance of their memories. Lucy smiled sadly at the sight.

"I'm so sorry, Natsu," Lucy condoled, moving her cloaked hand to his shoulder, giving him a slight squeeze.

Before any silence could occur, Lucy asked, "What was he like?"

That brought a huge grin to his face. "Oh man, Luce, ya would've loved him!"

For a few minutes, they walked through a shaded area of the park, Lucy listening to the many stories of Natsu's father, Igneel. After a few of the stories, including eating contests, arm wrestling, and the family trip to the mountains (which had also involved competition), Lucy could already tell where Natsu had both his big appetite and competitive nature from.

Lucy's boots sounded against the cobblestone of the more populated area of the park. It was still early, so not many people had ventured to the park yet, which was only a plus in Lucy's book.

Remembering that she had to buy Natsu's meal, she almost cringed. The portion sizes that boy could eat… Maybe they could go on a new mission soon?

All of her thoughts came to a halt as she stopped. A magnificent scent striped her nose. Natsu stopped as well, looking back at her as her eyes tightened. After a few blinks, the blackness eased, and she looked up at him with worried eyes.

"Do you smell that?" Lucy croaked, feeling her throat ignite with fire. Blood. Not blood in someone's body, but blood from someone injured. She just fed, but at that moment, her hunger returned at full blast.

She did, however, manage to push it back a little as Natsu nodded. "Yeah, this can't be good. C'mon!"

Soon, the two of began sprinting towards the source of the blood. Maneuvering through the half-empty park, they tried not to catch too much attention. Lucy wondered for a second why no one had noticed someone injured, but she figured they might not have been in clear sight to be found by humans.

They reached the grassy area of the park, the scent of blood getting closer and more intense by the second. The burning protested and intensified, but Lucy just let it happen. Whoever was hurt was more important.

And then Lucy's theory was debunked. The source of the blood hung on the big tree in the middle of the park. In clear for everyone to see. No one was around this area, which was strange.

Natsu cursed loudly as they stopped in front of the tree, while Lucy covered her mouth with her hand. Tears sprung freely from her eyes.

"Goddammit!" Natsu yelled, punching the tree trunk.

"No…" was all Lucy could respond to, her hand still covering her mouth. She couldn't believe it. The attack was _now_. This was their first strike.

The symbol Lucy recognized from Gajeel's shoulder, was painted on one of the victim's stomach, giving a clear reminder of who they were dealing with here.

Lucy's stomach tied itself in a knot. This was her fault. She caused this. They could literally just have given her gun and let her shoot them instead. This was her doing, her fault, her-

"Lucy," Natsu said firmly, his whole body shaking in fury. "How fast can you get to the guild without being caught?" His eyes didn't leave the sight in front of him.

The walk to the guild from here was five minutes. "If I use my vampire speed, I can be there in one minute."

Natsu nodded, meeting her panicked eyes with his stern ones. "Okay. Don't get caught. And carry as many as ya can. We _need_ Wendy."

Lucy nodded, quickly setting off, leaving a small dust cloud behind her. She hadn't used her vampiric speed in a while, so she was a little rusty, but it quickly came back to her.

Soon she was almost out of the park, but casting a last glance over her shoulder, she felt like her dead heart almost restarted.

Because on that tree, Levy, Jet, and Droy were hanging, their hands and legs secured to the tree trunk by _steel_ cuffs. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, there we go! It's time for things to heat up wuHU!
> 
> Why did I make the feeding scene so sexual? Idk. Do I regret it? Nope!
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please let me know what you thought in the reviews! Remember, this is what keeps us writer's writing. c:
> 
> Until next time!
> 
> /Sofie


	7. Breathe in, breathe out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone!
> 
> So, so sorry for the wait! (even though I do this for free ahahah) First I got sick, then my editor got sick, and then some personal stuff came up for me, and it's been a bit of a mess ahah! But good news, I'm one chapter ahead of this one (which is pretty cool lol), so I'm trying to get into a less stressful schedule. c:
> 
> Thanks to my editor, Animenerdd8, for editing so last minute!
> 
> Without further ado, here's the next chapter!
> 
> Trigger warning: descriptive panic-attack

Having already fed that day, it took Lucy thirty seconds to get to the guild. She quickly explained the situation, which caused a widespread panic in the guild. Unfortunately, Wendy was out of town, visiting her friend Chelia - Erza and Gray would have to do. Ignoring the awkwardness that could have ensued, Lucy had picked up Erza bridal style, Gray jumping up on her back.

As they sped towards the park, the scent of blood filled Lucy's nostrils. She pushed it to the back of her mind for now, but it didn't stop the burning.

Less than thirty seconds later, Lucy carefully placed Erza on her feet as Gray jumped down from her back, throwing himself to his knees next to the bodies. He carefully shook Droy, getting no response.

"Where's Wendy?" Natsu asked in a panicked tone, as he heard their decreasing heart-rates. Lucy heard them too. This was nothing but bad.

"Wendy's out of town," Erza explained, her angry eyes not leaving the wounded trio's bodies.

"God _fuck_ ," Natsu yelled, shaking Levy's lifeless looking body. The only indicator that she was alive was the small, very faint sound of her troubled breathing. Her heartbeat was the tiniest 'thump', threatening to give in. Jet and Droy weren't in good shapes either.

Turning his head to Lucy, Natsu stammered, "Lucy- you can use vampire blood, right?"

Lucy's breath hitched. "N-Natsu, if they die with it in their system… I don't know what would happen to creatures like-"

" _Just do it!_ " Natsu snapped, shocking not only Lucy but the growing crowd around him. Lucy's eyes widened as Natsu's firm gaze held her fearful one, but soon she saw the regret washing over his face. Behind her, she heard Erza about to start a sentence, probably to scold him, but Lucy raised her hand in protest.

"Lucy, I-" he started, but she shushed him as she got to work.

Stepping forwards, she inhaled deeply, the scent of their blood filling her nostrils. The familiar tightening sensation around her eyes and the sting from her gums immediately went into action. With her fangs, she bit down on her wrist hard. Not only to try to stop her growing hunger but also to block out her newborn-phasic brain trying to convince her that Natsu's outburst meant that he hated her. That wasn't the case, she knew deep down, but her brain wouldn't shut up.

"Wait, what the fuck," Gray protested, walking in front of Erza to see what the hell was happening. "Why should vampire blood do anything?"

"It's healing," Natsu explained, watching as Lucy knelt down beside Levy. He propped up the blue-haired witch's head slightly. Forcing her lips open, Lucy placed her bleeding wrist against her lips. "She uses it on me after feedin'." Lucy wanted to smack Natsu. Feeding was very intimate and controversial. Not something that should be said out loud.

"Wait, she feeds from you?" Gray asked, his eyebrows raising in chock. Avoiding Gray's eyes, she pressed her to wound further down against Levy's lips. As if Levy knew what the blood's purpose was, her unconscious body began gulping it down.

"Yeah, problem, ice-freak?" Natsu growled, still supporting Levy's head.

Despite already seeing Levy's wounds healing, Lucy's hunger wasn't dimming. The flames in her throat were burning away everything called 'composure'. Adding to that, the boys were arguing loudly while she was trying to not only heal her friends, but also keeping her hunger at at bay. And to top it all off, this was technically her fault. The lifeless looking bodies in front of her was her doing. She was having a bad fucking day.

"No," Gray sighed. "Better than the alternative." Which was feeding on civilians.

"Gray, this is not the time," Erza scolded, smacking the back of his head. Gray yelped, apologizing to the demigod.

"Yeah, you tell that stripper, Erza," Natsu snickered, strain in his voice as if he was being wary of the situation.

"What-" Gray started but was cut off.

"Shut up," Lucy exclaimed, making both Gray and Erza jump. Lucy snapped her head towards Natsu. "Both of you. I can't fucking concentrate with the two of you acting like children." As she gently raised her wrist from Levy's lips and crawled towards Droy on her knees.

She didn't really need to concentrate to heal her friends, but she needed to concentrate to not let herself indulge in their bloody suffering. Between the two of them bickering like children, having to hide under her cloak, and the thought of her friends dying, that was very hard.

She had no patience for this shit.

"Sorry, Lucy," the two boys mumbled, Erza eying her an approving gaze.

As she moved onto Jet's body, a big group from Fairy Tail came running towards the big tree in the middle of the park. Mira, Cana, Makarov, Lisanna, Elfman, some guy named Laxus, Juvia, Evergreen, and some other creatures Lucy had yet to meet, were all crowding around the tree, trying to get a good look of the wounded trio.

Worried and panicked murmurs filled the air, causing extra pressure on Lucy. If something went wrong; if her vampire blood worked different on dying creatures, she would be the one to blame. Not that she wasn't the one to blame to begin with, but still.

"Oh my goodness," Mira exclaimed, covering her mouth with her hand. As she slowly moved towards the trio, Cana placed her hand on her shoulder, holding her back. Mira turned around entering Cana's arms, silently crying into her shoulder.

"Fucken' bastards, whoever did this," Cana cursed, holding her crying girlfriend.

I did this, Lucy wanted to scream. Sure, she hadn't laid a hand on her friends' bodies, but she was to blame. She was the 'fuckin' bastards'.

Makarov stepped closer, eying the mark on Levy's stomach. A low growl escaped his lips as his fists clenched.

"Phantom Lord," he hissed, his eyes filled with anger and sorrow. "They hurt my children, so they _will_ pay."

"You can't be a man and hurt innocent people!" Elfman yelled, slamming a fist against the ground where he stood.

As more angered outbursts filled the area, it got harder for Lucy to concentrate. Her newborn-phased brain was yelling at her, making guilt and sorrow fill her. Flames were burning every inch of her throat. Karma. Karma was all it fucking was. If she had just turned herself in before any of this would happen, then everything would be okay. If she-

She hissed unconsciously as the pain hit a high-point. It was a low and quiet hiss, but Natsu seemed to catch onto it.

"Luce?" he asked concerned.

"'M fine," she simply replied, forcing more blood down Jet's throat.

Without even looking up, Lucy could tell that Natsu felt bad about yelling at her, but she couldn't focus on that now. She deserved it anyway.

Realizing that she had done all she could do, she pulled her wrist away, wiping off her own blood in her cloak. Gazing up at Erza, she spoke, "I-I need to go home," she swallowed the thick lump in her throat, backing away from her guildmates bodies. Right now, it wasn't their blood that made her nervous. It was their lifeless looking state.

"We understand," Erza replied sympathetically, placing a hand on Lucy's shoulder. Erza was most likely assuming she got thirsty, but that wasn't the only thing.

When she looked back at the three bodies on the ground, she didn't see her friends. The horrifying memories of the night she was turned flashed before her eyes, as well as Jose's promises of finding her, making her breath disappear completely. She needed to get out of there.

* * *

She couldn't breathe. It was like she had been emerged into a body of water and everything around her was going in slow motion. Any occurring sounds were blurry to her, as she was rocking back and forth in her bathroom, her knees against her chest, and her hands pulling her hair.

"It's okay, it's okay, it's okay-" she repeated to herself. But it wasn't. It really wasn't.

She was a monster like the ones that killed her family. She was a monster that had killed part of someone's family. She was the reason why Levy, Jet, and Droy was bruised, beaten, and broken.

Regret flooded her body as she realized that she shouldn't have left that night. She shouldn't have run away, leaving Jose to ruin her life even further.

But her life was already ruined. She never asked for this. She never wanted to be a killer. She never wanted to be the reason why her friends had been hurt.

_Monster, monster, you're a fucking monster!_

Her breath hitched in the throat and she felt the stinging of tears forming in her eyes. Hands fisting through her hair, she gasped for air as a sob wracked through her body.

And then hell broke loose.

Her previous rather calm breathing sped up and quickly turned into hyperventilation, while her quiet sobs turned into choked yelps that were her only pleas for someone to help her.

_Breathe in. Breathe out._

She couldn't... her body was in full fight or flight mode, and she felt like she was going to cough her lungs up. If she had had a heartbeat, it would have been racing at 800 miles an hour.

Soon her limbs grew numb and only the prickling, needle-ly sensation reminded her that, yes, she was in fact still alive.

Gasping for air, she felt her teeth tingling, knowing that her brain was screaming for oxygen. It was as if her whole body was asleep, fuzzy and numb.

The numbness made her arms give out, as well as her balance, and soon she wasn't sitting against the cool wall anymore, but lying in fetal position on the floor of her own bathroom.

_Pathetic..._

_Do you even have anything to grieve over?_

_You are a monster_.

_And everyone you love is dead._

Her choked yelps turned into loud sobs - almost screams - as she fisted her hair once again, pulling at her golden locks, which surprisingly hadn't been ripped out yet.

No matter how exhausted her body seemed to be, her breathing never slowed down, and the tears never seemed to stop. Ones again she let out a loud wail, just wanting her mother to hold her. She was only 18 after all. She was basically just a kid. A kid who needed her mother to hold her and stroke her hair and tell her it would be alright-

_Mother hated vampires._

_Mother would hate you._

_That was dad._

_Mom, dad? Both hated them._

_You are disgusting._

Her breathing increased, even though she didn't even think it was possible. It was like her throat had twisted itself into a knot, as it seemed her breath couldn't even reach her lungs.

_Levy was cut all up because of you._

_Droy had broken at least five bones because of you._

_Jet? He won't run for a while because of you._

Still in a fetal position, she hugged her knees, choking out sobs after sobs, screaming into her cold skin.

She screamed, not caring if anyone heard it. She gave herself temporary permission to grieve. It wasn't like she was able to stop it in anyway - she was having a panic attack after all.

Her screams drew out for a long while, soon turning into panicked sobs.

" _The body can only panic for twenty minutes,_ " was something she had read somewhere. That had to be a lie. A sick, twisted joke. She couldn't tell if it had been minutes or hours, but her body was still in panic mode. If it had been hours, she just debunked that myth. If it had been minutes, she had a long fucking time to go.

She didn't know how long she stayed in that position; screaming, crying, and hyperventilating into her knees; before she heard someone frantically running towards her bathroom.

As her nasal canals were fully occupied by trying to get her breathing back under control, she didn't notice her partner storming into the room.

"Lucy - _fuck_ , Luce!" Natsu exclaimed, throwing himself to his knees. From her position on the ground, all she saw were his hands, frantically searching for something to help her. He probably knew that she didn't want physical contact right now, but he was still trying to help. "Lucy, breathe _slooowly_ , okay? With me!"

Breathing deeply in through his nose, he motioned for her to do the same, yet her breathing stayed the same as she let out another long wail. She just wanted it all to stop...

She gasped out, clasping a hand over her mouth. Would that help? No, she found out it wouldn't as she let out another mix between a scream and a sob. She noticed how Natsu tensed at her sudden outburst.

Truly, Lucy had only had a few panic attacks in her life. This one was by far the worst, and she could thank her newborn phase for that. She didn't know why she was screaming, but it seemed to be the only way for her to release the emotions in her body.

"Luce, please," he pleaded, now jumping into action. Grabbing her by her shoulders, her gently, yet firmly helped her to sit, leaning against the wall. He noticed how unstable she looked, not knowing whether or not she could support her own weight. To that, he prodded himself up against the same wall, leaning her against his shoulder. That way, he was supporting her without touching her too much.

"Breathe, like this," he motioned to his chest, taking in a deep breath, moving his hand to his stomach to show that it expanded. "Belly breathin'. Like babies and, I don't know, puppies do?"

Through her sobbing she let out a small giggle, causing her to gasp for air again. It was probably not the best thing to do, but it was a start.

She tried, she really did, to follow his advice, but her lungs didn't let her. However, he seemed patient with her, keeping his breathing even for her to follow.

After minutes of her still hyperventilating and him breathing deeply, she finally got into a shallow rhythm. It wasn't as deep as she needed to calm down, but it was a start.

"That's it, Luce," he praised, nudging her shoulder with his. "You're doing great."

"I don't feel great," she rasped, blowing a strand of hair out of her face.

Another wave of panic hit her, and she gasped, grasping Natsu's hand for comfort. Natsu clenched her hand tightly, loudly breathing in, making her follow suit. Despite his excessive help, her breathing was still uneven and ready to fall out of sync if she would let her guard down.

However, the problem at this point wasn't her breathing. It was the immense guilt that shouted at her in her brain. With every ounce of guilt that hit her, she would panic, her breathing becoming uneven.

"Can y-you tell something?" she pleaded, a sob escaping her lips as she dared to speak. With her free hand, she dried off her cheeks, only to become wet again with fresh tears. " _Anything_."

"Like… a fact or story or somethin'?" he asked, giving her shaking hand a soft squeeze to show her that he was there for her.

As she nodded, he looked up at the white bathroom ceiling, his face deep in thought.

"I used'ta have them a lot when I first started turnin'," he started, running his thumb over the back of her hand. Her pink guild mark shone brightly. "Panic attacks I mean. Ya don't start transforming until you're 11 or 12. I was scared as shit."

"How did you get over them?" she whispered, fresh tears forming in her eyes. They had begun to sting, her body growing tired with every new tear.

He let out a mixture of a sigh and laugh. "Okay, you gotta promise me that Ice-princess will never hear about this, but… he, ya know, helps me with my transformation. And in the start, that was freakin' scary. Like, I had to break every single bone in my body to be done with it." Lucy felt a light shudder go through his body. She clenched his hand a little tighter. "So I'd have my attacks the day up to the full moon. He was there… a lot. Teaching me his techniques. And over time, it got better. Not one hundred percent, but better."

Lucy glanced up at his calm face, his onyx eyes meeting her glassy, brown ones. "I'm sorry," she only whispered, moving her gaze to their intertwined fingers. If the circumstances weren't the same, she would have been a stuttering mess.

Natsu shrugged, a lazy grin on his lips. "Nah, it's alright! It's not buggin' me, so it's all good."

Lucy shook her head, sniffling lightly. "Y-you still have to go through it every month. You don't d-deserve that kind of pain."

"Neither do you," he argued, a sigh escaping his lips. "As I said when I met ya, you're a nice person. All ya wanna do is not hurt anyone, but you need to put yaself first sometimes. And that includes feeding so you feel alright."

Lucy nodded slowly, taking in his words. Her brain was fighting with every ounce of strength it had to deny his words, but she knew better than to listen. But she wasn't a nice person. She was the reason they were hurt.

"Thank you," she whispered, new tears pooling up in her eyes. "But it doesn't matter. It's all my fault."

"What is?" he asked, raising a brow in confusion.

"The fact that Levy, Jet, and Droy are fighting for their lives right now," she hiccupped, a sob slipping through her lips in the process.

"How's any of this your fault?" he demanded, sounding almost angry. The sudden change of tone made Lucy cringe, a shudder going through her spine. Natsu noticed immediately, adding, "Sorry. Shouldn't have raised my voice, and I shouldn't have snapped at you today. Sorry."

"Don't worry, it's alright," she reassured him, still not meeting his gaze.

"But how can ya even blame yourself for this?" he asked again, this time a little softer. "Did you hurt Levy, Jet, and Droy?" It was clear to hear that he meant it as a rhetorical question, but Lucy had an answer for that.

"I might as well have," her voice was shaking, threatening to break.

Pulling back from the half-embrace, Natsu gazed down at her. "What do you mean?"

Suddenly the panic returned. By now, she knew how protective Natsu was for his family. There was no way in hell he would not hate her after she confessed

"Natsu," she croaked, her wet eyes meeting his. "My name is Lucy Heartfilia."

* * *

_Heartfilia_? Something about that name made a bell ring in his head, but he couldn't remember from what. Nonetheless, he couldn't really piece together why her last name would be relevant to the case. Not that her last name wasn't pretty because it was. It suited her quite well, but it didn't make him realize anything. Yet.

"Yeah, so what if your last name is Heartfilia?" he asked in a matter-of-fact tone. "You're still Lucy to me."

She shook her head, sniffling as she said, "No, Natsu. _Think_. Think about Phantom Lord and Heartfilia."

Natsu sighed, accepting her demand. "I really don't get why that should make a difference, but okay, I'll-"

Then he remembered.

_It had been a few days after the full moon. He hated these days since everyone was a little more soft on him. Yeah, sure, it hurt like crap to transform, but everyone didn't need to remind him by patting his head or giving him special treatment. That was just annoying as hell._

_Sitting at his usual spot at the bar, he pushed his empty breakfast plate towards Mira, placing his head flat on the table._

" _I'm boooored," he whined, not minding Happy crawling up on the side of his head, getting comfortable on his cheeks. "I wanna go on a mission, but all the good ones are taken!"_

_Mira giggled as she took the plate, and placed a cup of tea next to him. As he looked up, he saw Erza sitting beside him, encircling the mug with her hands._

" _Are you sure you should go on one so soon?" Mira asked concerned. "You know, the full moon was just a few days ago."_

" _But I'm fine and all that shit," he protested, sitting up suddenly, making the annoyed Exceed jump to safety to avoid being thrown off._

" _Mira's right, Natsu," Erza commented, sipping her tea. She had that annoying Natsu-I'm-your-mother-tone, which left no room for debate. "You should wait at least a day or two before you leave. We can't have you getting hurt."_

_Natsu wanted to protest. Like really, really wanted to protest, because he felt fine. The thing they didn't get was that it didn't take more than a few hours to recover from a transformation. Maybe even less, since he had Gray to basically shove food and water down his throat after each transformation. Still, they were all convinced that he had some kind of short-term trauma after transforming, which was as wrong as it could get. After years of transforming every month, he was pretty sure he was fine._

_But knowing Erza, he knew not to fight with her. Especially not in the morning before she had finished her tea. "Fine," he groaned, dragging out the word in an annoyed gesture._

_As the morning went on, Natsu inhaled two more plates of breakfast - he was a growing boy, after all, he thought - more people swarmed the guild hall, looking for jobs, and to socialize with their friends._

_As everything was normal, giddy, and quite peaceful, Mira gasped, turning the attention of near-by creatures to her._

" _The Heartfilia family was attacked by Phantom Lord a few days ago," Mira announced with a saddened tone. As she flattened out the newspaper on the bar counter, a few people flocked to the bar._

" _Wait, am I s'posed to know them?" Natsu asked puzzled._

_Mira shrugged. "They are an extremely rich family, who has been very influential in the stock market and railroad production."_

_Natsu hated transportation, so he never really batted an eye to what names were written on them. Not to mention, he just knew that money would keep him fed and sheltered, so he didn't really care of who was successful in the 'stock market'. No wonder he hadn't heard of them._

" _Are they alright?" Erza asked, positioning her head so she could read._

_Mira shook her head, sighing as she said, "No, apparently everyone in the house was drained of blood, minus a few servants."_

_A shudder went through Natsu's body. Just the thought of having all of your blood leave your body made his usually heated body go cold._

" _That's fucken' horrifying," Romeo commented, crossing his arms. He was a young werewolf and had yet to transform. He was 12 and was rather late in his development, and his father both feared and hoped he would never transform._

_He had seated himself on a barstool beside his father, Macao, who himself was a werewolf. Smacking the back of his son's head, Macao scolded, "Romeo, I taught you better than to swear!"_

" _But daaad," Romeo whined, pouting. "Natsu swears all the time!"_

_Macao turned his head to the pink-haired werewolf, who just grinned proudly. "Attaboy!" he praised, earning a million-dollar grin from the young boy._

" _You son of a bitch, teachin' my son how to swe-" before Macao could even finish his sentence, or realize that he himself just swore, Erza spoke up._

" _Oh, it says here," Erza started, sharing the newspaper with Mira. Her eyes scanned the small amount of text on the page. "That their daughter has gone missing. Her body wasn't found in-between the corpses."_

" _Oh, no," Levy, who had seemed rather interested in the news, squeaked, holding Lily close to her body. Her black, pointy hat slowly bent as if it could sense the mood. "Phantom Lord has a reputation for being really cruel. I hope she's alright."_

" _That's just vampires for ya," Gray growled, the room getting slightly colder as he entered. Sitting down on a bar stool - far from Natsu - he nodded to Mira, making her brew his iced-coffee. Natsu knew Gray's history with vampires, so he didn't really blame him for thinking like that. Still, Natsu had always hated the fact that some creatures were hated for being themselves. Most vampires didn't even ask to become a vampire._

" _Doubt it," Macao answered Levy, lighting a cigarette, taking a drag from it. Blowing out the smoke, he added, "She's a Heartfilia. She probably grew up with no worries in the world. She's probably dead by now."_

" _Macao!" Mira scolded, rolling up the newspaper, and smacked him with it. "That's a very bold assumption."_

_But he probably wasn't wrong. Natsu himself even had a family member who was in Phantom Lord, not that he would ever admit it, but he knew that Phantom Lord was brutal, and didn't care for lives of the innocent. He hadn't spoken with the said family member in years, but from what he had heard, all the rumors were true._

" _Juvia knows someone from Phantom Lord," the mermaid joined in, settling herself on the barstool. Her skin was glistening, assumingly from taking a swim in the tank. Mira placed a blue slushie in front of her as Juvia added, "Juvia knows that they are not all bad. They just have a very cruel master. Juvia knows that Gaj- her friend would never do something malicious without protesting."_

_Natsu tried his best to ignore the name Juvia almost said._

_Gray let out a 'tsk', capturing the straw of his ice-coffee with his teeth. "Vampires are vampires," he repeated, taking a sip. "Their purpose is to kill. She's probably dead because one of them got hungry."_

" _Gray, we don't judge other creatures," Erza scolded in a low tone. "We are all judged by humans. Don't add to that, got it?"_

_Despite his fearful expression, Gray turned his head, uttering a low, "Fine."_

_Everyone soon forgot about that news article, going on about their daily business. Macao was bragging to Wakaba about a mission he went on, while his son was eagerly listening, praising his father's words. Erza and Levy were having a somewhat boring conversation - at least to Natsu - about something serious. Gray was hesitantly talking to Juvia, her almost fainting at the attention. At last, Natsu was just sitting on his stool, eating his breakfast, and watching Happy curl in the sunlight._

"You… you were attacked," Natsu whispered, baffled by the sudden memory. She had had her entire family killed, trying to cope with that as well as being a vampire.

"They w-were al-" she gasped for air, sniffling slightly. "-all killed. I'm the o-only one left!"

Sensing where her mood was heading, he pulled her close, letting her bury her face into his shoulder. For a few minutes, he just let her sob, lightly patting her head. Despite the fact that he had been pretty good at comforting thus far, he felt as if he was running out of comforting words. He just had to keep trying.

Letting go of his warm grip, she pulled her knees up to her chest, resting her head on them. "They… Phantom Lord raided my home and killed everyone but me. Jose decided to only partly kill me. That's how I ended like this." She gestured to herself with a huff.

Natsu, despite Lucy pulling back, shimmied his hand into hers, even though her hand was firmly pressed against her shin. For some reason, he felt more comfortable holding her hand while she was crying. That way she wasn't alone. That made sense, he thought.

Pulling her hand away from her shin, Natsu got a tighter grasp. "But why do ya think it's your fault? I mean, Phantom Lord likes to be cruel as hell, but it got nothin' to do with you."

Lucy shook her head, her gaze planted on their intertwined fingers. "I ran away. I refused to be Jose's bitch," despite her voice being shaky and low, anger filled her words. "As I ran, he yelled that he would find me. And a few days ago… this other vampire, who helped me that night, warned me about the attack. In a dream. So yes, it has everything to do with me."

Natsu's guts tied itself into a knot by the thought of Lucy being someone's bitch. He knew what it meant when someone from Phantom Lord wanted someone as their bitch, and that didn't mean an assistant.

But despite all the anger towards Phantom Lord that had built up inside of him, irritation towards Lucy bloomed inside Natsu, but he suppressed it as best he could. "You were warned, but didn't tell anyone?"

"I d-did!" she sputtered, clenching Natsu's hand as soon as she felt him pull back. "I told Makarov, because I didn't know what to do!" Fresh tears pooled in her eyes as she looked away from him. _Good going, Natsu._

He let her coolness mix with his warm touch, giving her hand a soft squeeze, to let her know that he wasn't angry at her. "Of course you did," he acknowledged with a sigh. "You're Lucy. You're smart."

Lucy let out a breathy, shaky laugh, leaning her head against his shoulder. Despite only knowing her for one week, he was happy to be able to comfort her like that.

"We'll have to tell the guild, y'know?" he said gently, once again brushing his thumb over her hand.

Sighing, she nodded, "I know." As she let out a shaky giggle, she added, "Sure as hell not going to be easy."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this!
> 
> It wasn't a chapter I was the most proud of, but it's not the worst either.
> 
> Next chapter is where all the action begins - hope you guys don't think the build-up was too boring or slow.
> 
> As always, reviews are greatly appriciated! Critisism, things you liked about, etc. It really keeps my writing going!
> 
> Till next time,
> 
> /Sofie


	8. Lucy Heartfilia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone!
> 
> Hope you're all doing good! I'm down with the flu, but I'll be alright ahaha
> 
> Anyways, thank you so, so much to Animenerdd8 for being an amazing editor. I learn so much from you! :')
> 
> Hope you enjoy this week's chapter!

* * *

It took Lucy under five minutes to realize that she felt uncomfortable. It took Natsu under five seconds to realize that he couldn't do anything but listen like everyone else did. Here, he would distract the listeners if he suddenly grabbed her hand or hugged her to comfort her. Mostly because he wasn't a very touchy person. Not before Lucy, anyways. So he sat back, ready to listen.

After Lucy had calmed down from her panic attack, Natsu had given her some privacy to freshen up, before they headed to the guild. While he was pacing around her room, he felt his anger build up in him. Never in his life had he hated someone so much as Phantom Lord. Not only did they hurt part of his family, but they killed Lucy's entire family.

After an hour, Lucy and Natsu arrived at the guild. As they burst through the large oak doors, they had gathered a small group of the creatures Lucy trusted. The group consisted of Erza, Mira, Cana, Lisanna, Elfman, Juvia, and even Gray. They had all been confused what the whole ordeal was about, but as the duo had gathered them in a faraway corner, they knew it was serious.

Lucy and Natsu were sharing a bench by one of the roundtables, as the group of creatures sat in a half circle around the table, facing the duo.

Erza cleared her throat, giving Lucy a gentle smile. "Why don't you tell us what this is all about?"

With big brown eyes, Lucy gazed at Natsu, looking for something. Approval? Strength? Either way, Natsu nodded, his eyes soft.

"Well, I guess I'll start by saying my full name," Lucy sighed, picking the skin on her index finger. "My name is Lucy Heartfilia."

Gasps echoed throughout the hall. The Izling, Demigod, and Tiefling all looked at her with big, almost apologetically eyes, while the mermaid and fairies shared sad looks. People who weren't exactly a part of the conversation were sharing whispers.

' _That Heartfilia girl who went missing?'_

' _Weren't her parents like stinking rich?'_

' _I heard they all got turned into vampires!'_

' _If she has so much money why is she here?'_

' _No, no, they all died, but PL took all their money.'_

"Hey, can it!" Natsu barked, feeling his anger build up inside of him. Glancing down at Lucy, he noticed her glassy eyes go wet, threatening to let tears fall, and he was almost ready to let his temper get the best of him. Luckily, however, Erza was ahead of him.

Seeing Lucy's distressed expression, Erza gave her a sweet smile before saying, "Excuse me for a second," standing up, she clasped her armored hands together, the ringing sound catching the attention of the entire room. "This is a private conversation! If you wanted to be a part of it, you should have joined the group over here." Before she turned around to resume the conversation, she snapped her head back, "And how dare you speak ill of one of our own! Fairy Tail creatures never do that!"

Lucy looked a little startled by Erza's outburst, maybe even touched a bit, but the rest of the group had grown accustomed. Natsu almost shivered by the thought of the many times Erza had yelled at him. It was never a pretty sight.

Sitting down again, Erza spoke, "Please continue."

Taking a few seconds to adjust herself, Lucy cleared her throat. Then she told everyone else what she had told Natsu - in fewer details though, but just enough to keep them covered. She told them about the night she was turned, running away from Jose, and his promise to find her, the dream where Gajeel had appeared, and the fact that she felt incredibly guilty about what happened to Levy, Jet, and Droy.

"Oh, Lucy," Mira whispered, settling herself down on the bench besides the blonde vampire, hugging her from the side. Awkwardly patting the fairy, Lucy nodded knowingly.

"And they call themselves men?" Elfman hissed, his monstrous hands fisted. Lisanna, who sat beside him, had both of her hands over her mouth.

"So Phantom Lord is after Lucy?" Juvia asked with a shaky voice.

As Mira let go of the blonde, Lucy replied, "It seems so, yeah."

There was an uncomfortable silence for a few moments. Not because it was awkward, but because everyone was processing the new information, trying to figure out how to react. All Natsu wanted to do was jump to his feet and yell about how they would fight for the guild, and none of this was Lucy's fault, but that didn't seem appropriate. Instead, he placed his hand on Lucy's shoulder, giving it a squeeze.

"But Lucy," Erza murmured, looking up at the vampire, her head tilted slightly. "How long is it since you… turned?"

"About a month," she replied somewhat hesitant. Natsu couldn't read her face at that moment.

For some reason, Erza's eyes went wide at that. "So you're a newborn?"

Beside him, Natsu saw Lucy flinch at that question, although he didn't know what it meant. Of course, it kind of made sense that vampires would be 'reborn' when they turned, but he didn't see anything weird in that.

Both Mira and Juvia exchanged worried glances, but Natsu still didn't know why.

This time it was Gray who spoke, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Yeah, what's the big deal?" Natsu demanded as confused as Gray was.

"Well, it's a hellish phase for vampires," Erza started, her eyes still wide as she didn't look away from Lucy. "It has been renamed the Suicide Phase because-"

"Erza, it's fine," Lucy said firmly, her hands fisted in her lap. She looked anxious for some reason.

However, Natsu's interest had peaked. Not only was Lucy in the supposed 'Suicide Phase', which by itself sounded as bad as it could be, but he wasn't allowed to know why, for some reason.

"Luce?" Natsu asked gently, trying to get her attention, but Lucy's gaze was stuck on the floor.

Ignoring the blonde, Erza spoke up again. This time a little gentler. "It's called that because around 60% of all newborns commit suicide. Their emotions are all over the place, and every little mistake, harsh word, or event can trigger extremely intense mood swings."

"Erza!" Lucy pleaded, although Erza was done with her explanation.

It had been a week. A week since he first saw her cry. Through that week, she might have fought for her own life for all Natsu knew. Sure, she cried a little more than perhaps Erza did, but Natsu never saw anything of it. Crying was normal, and there was no shame to that, but now he understood. Every little emotion for her was heightened.

Lucy was still alive, and for that he was grateful.

"Lucy-" Natsu started, but Lucy cut him off.

"I'm fine, really," she smiled, but Natsu could see it was strained. He was sure he wasn't the only one, but he could tell she didn't want the pity.

"You have all the right to punish us as you please for not noticing your struggles," Erza babbled, bowing down before the blonde. If the mood hadn't been so blue, Natsu would have cracked up at Erza's behaviour.

Waving her hands in front of herself, Lucy protested, "T-there's no need for that," she insisted, but it didn't seem to change the demigod's attitude. "I really am fine."

_Lies_. Natsu saw right through her. Since the day he met her, he could see the hollowness in her eyes. He knew those eyes from seeing them every time he looked in the mirror, or looked at his sister every day for _years_ after their parents supposed death. He didn't want to think of those memories, so he focused on the scene before him.

"Juvia wants Lucy to know that she can always talk to Juvia," Juvia promised, patting Lucy's knee.

"Th-thank you, but-" Lucy started, but apparently there was more support.

Lisanna gave Lucy a sweet smile, almost identical to her sister's, as she said, "We are a family here. We help each other out."

"Real men help their family!" Elfman agreed with a firm nod.

Natsu didn't know whether to smile or frown as he saw Lucy's eyes fill with tears once again. He knew they were happy tears, but they were still tears.

"Yeah, Luchy," Cana slurred, winking non-sexually, for once, as she said, "Phantom Lord got nothing on you when we're behind ya!"

Lucy moved her one hand to her chest. "Everyone… thank you…" A tear slipped from her eyes, landing on her right hand in her lap.

"We don't blame you," Gray suddenly spoke up, shocking the entire group. Lucy, however, looked at him in awe, her eyes glistening as he spoke. "This is the Phantom _fuck's_ fault."

A small smile crept onto Lucy's lips. "Thank you, Gray," she murmured, looking into the palms of her pale hands. "That means a lot."

Gray nodded acknowledging, receiving a proud look from Erza. Natsu himself couldn't help but feel a slight happiness. Despite Gray slowly warming up to Lucy, this was by far the least aggressive thing he had said to her. One would even go as far as to say that he was plain out friendly towards her.

After a few more minutes of support and happy, friendly talking in the group, Cana spoke up, now sounding less slurred. "But we can't really have Lucy to live alone when there's a crazy vampire guild after her, can we?"

"Oh, that's easy," Natsu assured them with a grin. "Luce can sleep at my place!" With his cheeky grin, he gave her thumbs up, which she returned with a small smile.

Erza, however, was not as amused. "Absolutely not. Lucy can sleep at Fairy Hills. Do you even have two beds?"

Natsu shrugged. "I don't see the big deal. I sleep in Lucy's bed all the time?" It wasn't a lie. There was nothing wrong with two pals sleeping together in the same bed. Unless it was Gray. Gray was stupid.

"Natsu!" Lucy hissed, slapping his shoulder. Snapping his head towards her, he gave her a confused look, not understanding why he, of all people, deserved to be slapped.

However, judging by the fact that Mira had her hand clasped over her mouth, holding back a giggled, Erza's mouth wide open, Cana giving him a thumbs up, and telling him good job, and Gray laughing hysterically, he figured he had said something stupid.

"B-but, the two of you aren't even married," Erza choked out, but quickly straightened her posture as she said, "That is simply unacceptable. Lucy, has he impurified you honor? I can easily kill him with a blink of the eye."

Quickly, Lucy came to his rescue, _thank god_. Waving her hands in front of herself, she stumbled over her own words, "N-no, Erza, it's not what you think! He j-just sneaks into my bed sometimes!"

To that, Mira let out a high squeal, her girlfriend shaking her head. Erza studied the two of them with stern eyes.

"Flame-brain, that's just plain creepy," Gray argued, an amused smirk on his lips.

"What's all this supposed to mean?" Natsu barked, feeling confused as ever. Then it hit him. Boy and girl, sleeping in the same bed. Sex. Although he knew that it didn't _only_ have to be boys and girls, he finally understood their suspicions. Snapping his head towards Erza, he exclaimed, "It's not like that! Lu-Luce's bed is just really fuckin' comfortable!"

"Natsu, language!" Erza scolded, her eyes still stern as they moved between the werewolf and the vampire, determining their fate. Sighing, she shook her head. "Alright, I'll look past it for now. But Lucy should still sleep at Fairy Hills."

Before Lucy could accept the offer, Natsu broke in, "But ya room is full of swords and armors! Mira and Cana live together, Lisanna live with Elfman in town, it would be disrespectful to sleep in Levy's room, and Lucy's not as cozy wit' the rest of the girls. Right, Luce?"

Lucy raised an eyebrow at him. "Sure?"

"I'm sure we can find a solution somehow," Erza stated, not giving in.

Natsu didn't know why, but he had a sudden urge to keep an eye out for her. He came to the conclusion that it was a mix between knowing that a crazy vampire guild was after her, and the fact that her emotions were out to kill her.

"Come on, Erza," Cana sighed, suddenly holding an open beer in her hands. "The idiot obviously just wants what's best for her." As she nudged Mira's side, the fairy quickly nodded, an innocent smile on her lips.

"Besides," Cana pushed, taking a sip of her beer. "She could always sleep in Wendy's room?"

"I guess I'll allow it," Erza finally gave in, but she didn't remove her stern gaze from Natsu. "But no funny business, okay?"

Natsu pouted, not fond of Erza's mistrust in him. "Yes, _mom_."

As everything settled down, the issues ahead of them were soon forgotten. The group quickly fell into idle, chatting away about beating up Phantom Lord, but soon they fell into a more mundane conversation.

After a few minutes, Lucy cleared her throat. "Welp, I better get packing," she announced, standing up from her spot. Shooting a look at Natsu, she said, "I _really_ hope you have been cleaning."

A sudden shiver went down Natsu's spine as he realized that he indeed _haven't_ done that. "Well, about that…"

"I have been tricked!" Lucy cried dramatically, causing laughter to bubble from the group.

Before they left, Cana leaned close to Natsu's ear, and whispered, "Ya're not so dense as you seem, huh?"

Pulling back annoyed, Natsu exclaimed, "What's that supposed to mean?!" Obviously contradicting himself, but he really didn't get it.

Without thinking too much about it, Natsu grabbed Lucy's wrist, although she was talking to Mira about something. Yanking her towards him, the two of them ran out of the guild to go pack.

At the end of the day, it took Lucy thirty minutes to realize that Fairy Tail was her new family. Natsu couldn't help but smile at that.

* * *

The next week was a blur. Lucy lived in constant fear for the entire week, although she didn't let anyone know. She had recurring nightmares. Vivid images of Levy, Jet, and Droy's lifeless looking bodies haunted her every sleeping moment, but she kept it to herself. No need to worry others about her demons.

Sleeping at Natsu's place hadn't been that bad. Sure, there was the mess, and him sneaking onto the couch she was sleeping on, claiming it was more 'comfy'. Lucy theorized that he just liked being annoying.

" _Are you… kidding me?" Lucy murmured as she had taken a good look at Natsu's part of the house. Despite the fact that Happy had looked quite content with lying in a pile of dirty clothes, Lucy wasn't really that big of a fan. Piles upon piles of clothes were tossed around the room, as well as pots, plates, and utensils. Empty water bottles were visibly peeking out under a desk in the far corner, and it honestly looked like there had been a party here._

" _That's it, I'm sleeping in Wendy's room," she had declared, starting to march towards the closed door, which probably was the younger fairy's room._

_Natsu, however, had had other plans. As he had grabbed her arm, his eyes quickly transformed into big puppy-eyes, his lips sliding into a pout. "Please stay, Luce," he had pleaded, almost looking directly into her soul. "I don't want ya to feel bad…"_

_As if he had triggered a switch inside of her, she sighed, "Fine… fine! But! This mess… it's gotta go, Natsu."_

_A groan came from the werewolf._

Wendy had come home from visiting her friend, Chelia, to chaos. Everyone had been dragging her towards the infirmary, screaming bloody murder, which had sent the tiny fairy into immense panic, apologizing for being late 'to the party'.

And now, Lucy was sitting on a chair in the infirmary, talking to three lifeless-looking bodies.

"Hey, Lev," Lucy murmured, drawing her hand lightly over the pale witch's arm. "I hope you're feeling alright. Wendy says that you are going to wake up soon. I hope you do. I miss you here…" As there no response came, Lucy sighed, sitting back in the chair besides Levy's bed.

Glancing over at the sleeping Wairn and nature witch, content with how their hearts beat. But it was still her fault. No matter how many times the people at the guild told her not to feel guilty, her brain begged to differ.

Sighing, she looked back to Levy. "I know that it's my blood, mixed with Wendy's healing magic, that's making you feel better, but… it's also my fault that you're here. I'm so sorry! Please wake up soon. I promise you that you can read my novel when it's done."

As if she expected a reaction from the sleeping witch, she held her breath, waiting for anything other than her breathing to indicate that she was indeed alive. After a few more moments, she released the built-up oxygen, and gave Levy's small arm a squeeze before she stood up, heading for the door. Before she left, she cast a last glance at the sleeping team.

As she made it out to the main guild hall, people were not partying but planning. Erza and Gray were studying a map alone by a roundtable, presumably of where Phantom Lord was located, while Mira and Cana were discussing some kind of tactic with the master by the bar. Wendy was taking care of not only her own Exceed, but also Levy's.

The first few days, Lily had refused to leave Levy's side, but as every other living creature, he needed food. Wendy had taken him home to stay with Charle and Happy.

Natsu, on the other hand, was discussing fighting techniques with Macao as well as a very intrigued Romeo.

Other creatures such as Warren - whom she had met a few days prior - and Elfman were trying to keep the spirit high, still keeping Fairy Tail functional alcoholics. Although the alcohol and banter surely helped, the tense atmosphere was still there.

A slight pain built up inside of Lucy. All this panic - or maybe not panic, but less-calm war planning - was her doing. It was her presence that made Fairy Tail a dangerous place these days. If she hadn't run, none of this would have happened. If she-

"Shut up," she murmured to herself, her hand clenched above her heart. For few moments, she closed her eyes, letting her brain say whatever the fuck it wanted to. It wasn't like she could stop it, so she just had to wait it out.

As she opened her eyes, she let out a small squeak as a certain pink-haired werewolf was mere inches from her face. How hadn't she heard him approaching?

"You okay, Luce?" he asked, an eyebrow raised. "You look constipated if ya ask me."

_This idiot…_ Puffing out her cheeks, she lightly slapped his shoulder. "I'm not constipated, you idiot!" she hissed, seeing as a grin spread on his face.

The two of them bickered for a while – well, more Lucy bickering and Natsu laughing, asking if she was 'hangry'.

Then suddenly, the whole atmosphere changed with just one scream.

"Watch out!" someone screamed from the outside, turning everyone's attention to the door of Fairy Tail. Suddenly the loud sound of a cannon firing erupted through the air, crashing directly into the Fairy Tail building. Screams and roars either of panic or pain filled the air as everyone threw themselves to the ground.

Lucy mimicked their actions, quickly throwing herself to the ground, rolling towards to bar side for safety, Natsu not far behind her. The two of them stayed there as destructions from the cannonball was still in action.

Parents threw themselves over their children, shielding them from the damage. Creatures were crawling to safety as the ceiling was giving in, sending concrete blocks flying towards the ground. The door had already been destroyed to no repair, and the walls around it were slowly falling apart.

In the back of the building, where the large water tank for water creatures was placed, a loud crash was heard, followed by the sound of splintering glass. Suddenly water flooded the whole bar area, swooshing people around. Juvia and a siren, whom Lucy didn't know the name of, quickly pushed themselves off of their human feet, running towards the water in hopes of stopping it before more damage was done.

They succeeded in making a big wall of water but had to let it down slowly to preserve their magic. Slowly but surely, water seeped through the guild in small amounts.

Creatures were already on their feet, helping the injured towards the infirmary where an unharmed Wendy stood tall, her expression strained. Others, such as Erza, were cautiously taking a peek outside to see what the big deal was.

As her interest peaked, Lucy crawled out of her hiding spot, trying to get a glimpse of who the offenders were - although she had a pretty good idea of who it could be.

However, as she was about to take another step forward, she felt herself get tackled to the ground by a pair of strong arms. Looking up, she saw Natsu holding her close, almost in a death grip. As she was about to yell at him and demand an explanation, she caught a glimpse of a piece of wood, possibly from the guild's door, that was pierced through the guild's floor, just where she had stood. It would have impaled her if he hadn't tackled her.

Quickly jumping to his feet again, he extended a hand towards her and pulled her up. Lightly dusting herself off, Lucy nodded. "Thanks… that was a close one."

Natsu nodded back, a strained grin on his face.

Soon everyone pooled out in front of the guild. Lucy pulled her hood over her head, as she entered the daylight. Upon exiting the building, she couldn't help but gasp in horror of the sight in front of her.

Placed where there used to be a row of houses was the Phantom Lord guild in all its glory, crushing three buildings of Magnolia citizens. The fear she had held back from before returned as she remembered that people, in fact, _lived there_. Her fear, however, quickly dimmed as she didn't smell any new blood.

"Phantom Lord!" Erza's deep, intimidating voice boomed, sending chills down Lucy's spine. Everyone around her looked to be filled with rage. "Stop being cowards! Show yourself!"

As soon as Erza finished that sentence, a screen of some sort - powered by magic - appeared in front of the castle-like building - surprising almost everyone.

"They have a witch on their side," Lucy whispered, a hand reaching her agape mouth.

"Bastards," Natsu growled in response.

Soon, the screen flickered a few times before a man came into view, his back turned to the audience. However, it didn't even matter that his face wasn't revealed. Lucy knew exactly who he was.

" _I will find you, bitch!_ " rung through her head, and she clenched the sides of her head as pain shot through it. It wasn't physical pain. It was mental agony.

As the man turned around, it got even worse.

_Pain. Pain was all that Lucy felt. It was like fire or acid was running through her veins - maybe even both at the same time. Yet she couldn't move. Not her arms, not her legs, not even her eyes. But she could hear everything. Their screams, their pleads and the way their heart beat got slower and slower for every moment they were screaming. It kept replaying in her head. And the smell… the smell of their blood. It wasn't metallic._

.  
.

_It was magnificent._  
_._  
_._  
_._  
_"There we go, love," Jose murmured, the smirk on his lips almost audible. "Rise and shine, sunshine."_  
_._  
_._  
_._  
_"Don't be scared, darling," Jose said in a gentle tone, which just made it more scary._  
_._  
_._  
_.  
_ _Behind her she heard Jose scream something after her, but she couldn't hear it._

Her breath hitched. His face… his face with the black painted lips, the sharp mustache, the pointy eyebrows, and slicked back hair… taking one look at his ugly mug took her back to that night. She couldn't look at him, but something inside of her forced her to.

" _Good afternoon, Fairy Tail,_ " Jose smirked, his tone as sadistic as he looked. The supposed politeness of his words made it even worse. " _I hope we didn't wreck your beloved guild too much beyond repair. If not, we might have time for that later._ "

"Up yours!" Gray yelled, being held back by both Erza and Cana.

" _Now, now, Mr. Fullbuster_ ," Jose snickered, raising a scolding finger. " _That's not very polite_."

It got worse for every moment. Everyone around her was shaking with anger, either yelling at him to go fuck himself, or biting back the urge to yell those exact words.

" _Now, as we are all being very rational, let me propose a deal,_ " he licked his lips, not a smudge on his black, thin lips. " _Deliver Lucy Heartfilia to me, and your guild won't feel as much damage as we intended to._ "

As soon as those words left the vampire's mouth, Lucy gasped, shivering with the thought of what fate he had in store for her. Then suddenly, the creatures all began to yell over each other, throwing their fists up in protest.

"You can go to hell, ya bastard!" Natsu screamed, his hands tightly fisted, digging into the palms of his hands. "Lucy is our family! _As if_ we would ever betray a family member like that!"

"Please just…" Lucy tried, her voice shaky, but she was interrupted by the rest of her family soon after.

"Yeah, Lucy is one of us!" Erza yelled, slamming the end of her sword into the ground, some of cobblestone splintering as she did so.

"She might be a newbie, but we still love her!" someone else yelled. Lucy herself was too busy keeping her composure to look up to see who.

"Please j-just," she tried again, but was interrupted once again.

Gray fired a fist in the air, yelling, "Lucy is our family, and here at Fairy Tail we never hurt family like that!"

Lucy was baffled. Despite knowing her for roughly two weeks, they were willing to protect her to that extend. They were sacrificing the guild for someone like _her_. It was wrong. Oh, so wrong. It was all her fault. Why couldn't they see that? Why couldn't they see that the guild would be safer with her complying to the demands?

"Yeah, ya ugly bastard," Cana screamed on the top of her lungs, cheers erupting around her. "She's one of our peeps, and you have to get through us to get to her."

More cheers erupted around her, creatures throwing their clenched fists in the air, other making a gesture she had only seen once before. A clenched fist, their index finger and thumb unfolded. The gesture of Fairy Tail. Tears were streaming freely from Lucy's eyes.

"Please just," she whispered as her voice didn't allow her to speak louder. "Let them take me!"

Suddenly she felt a warm hand intertwine with hers, and as she looked up, she was met by Natsu's firm gaze.

"Never," he replied, squeezing her hand tightly. " _Never!_ "

Stunned, she barely even noticed the firm grip of his hand around her. All he could focus on was his stern eyes, never leaving hers. That was until Jose spoke again.

" _Very well,_ " he sighed, waving his hand to someone off-screen. Many of the creatures in front of the guild got into fighting stance, but none of them were prepared of what was coming. " _Well, I'm afraid I'll have to annihilate you. Goodbye, Fairy Scum!_ "

A widespread panic soon erupted amongst the crowd, many of them suddenly looking hesitant. There were no vampiric fighters running out from the big building, probably because they were in daylight, but the look on Jose's face revealed in that what he had in store for them wasn't pretty.

Then suddenly, in front of the screen, a big source of light appeared, slowly but surely getting bigger.

Magic…

"Get back!" Erza screamed, pulling out an iron stick. For the first five seconds, Lucy couldn't figure out what it was for, but as the Demigod stormed forwards, the stick unfolded into a big shield. In her other hand she held a glowing sword, ready for combat.

Wait, was she going to take the blow herself?

Lucy gasped, followed suit by the big crowd of creatures, who simultaneously began yelling at her, begging her to come back. Many of them, including Gray and Natsu, stormed forwards but were held back by bigger creatures. Elfman, despite his usual banter about manliness, had tears in the corners of his eyes, as he along with other creatures tried to push the crowd into the guild once again.

"Erza!" Gray yelled, attempting to catch up with her. Attempting to stop her, but Cana held him back. He shot her a nasty glance, trying to rip himself free, but the Tiefling didn't budge. Her eyes were big and round, but also glassy. She was crying. "Get back here, you idiot! You're going to get yaself killed!" Gray screamed, now being held back by both Cana and Mira.

Natsu, who was almost getting through the pushing creatures, screamed, "ERZA SCARLET, I AIN'T FORGIVING YA IF YOU DIE!"

Far, far ahead, where Erza was running and ignoring their pleas, she looked back with a teary-eyed smile. The bright, shining light in front of the screen – with the laughing Jose on – was reaching its peak, and soon a loud boom erupted through the air. Screams of terror from almost all of the creatures, including Lucy, filled the entire area, but the loudest scream of the all was from Erza.

Erza had jumped far up into the air, raising her shield to where the blast would hit. As soon as it fired, a big beam of light shot directly into Erza's shield, shattering it upon impact. It did, however, redirect the beam, sending it flying towards the sky. Erza was thrown back, slammed into the ground with an agonizing scream.

As Lucy fell to her knees, she let out an ear-piercing scream. For on the ground mere feet in front of her, her friend Erza lay lifeless.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, I hope you enjoyed it! I didn't try to make it rushed, but it might be, but I'm not sure what you think. I just couldn't wait to get to the fighting. :')
> 
> Leave a comment of what you thought!
> 
> Until next time,
> 
> /Sofie


	9. The Return of the Lion and Ram

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone!
> 
> Holy shit, last week was tough! Three assignments and one exam paper, AND I even managed to write this chapter, while fighting off the flu. I'm badass, I know B)
> 
> Welp, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! I am literally losing my shit, because FF.net is not sending out my mf new chapter alerts and its...gheriugh4ioeh SO FRUSTRATING! 
> 
> But as always, thank you to my wonderful editor, Animenerdd8, for editing this week's chapter! Thank you so much!
> 
> Enjoy!

 

* * *

_As Lucy fell to her knees, she let out an ear-piercing scream. For on the ground mere feet in front of her, her friend Erza lay lifeless._

* * *

Erza considered herself a good fighter. Some might even call her the greatest. She was the daughter of Irene, so of course they would call her that. She wasn't one easily moved to tears, she was always the brave one, and was considered the big-sister of many in the guild.

But right at this moment, flying through the air, a white hot pain shooting through her body, Erza Scarlet was scared. It was as if she lost all sense of where she was, what time was, and who she was. All she could focus on was the agony soaring through every vein in her body. That hit she took hadn't been anything physical – it was a magical attack. Erza wasn't magic, she was a mere Demigod.

But she had protected her guild. She had protected her family.

As her numb body hit the cobblestone beneath her, she felt a sickening crack through her limbs, but she didn't care. For in her mind, she was victorious.

Various screams erupted in her ears, calling her name, screaming for her to wake up. A set of warm hands pulled her immovable body into their lap, shaking her.

"Erza!" the creature exclaimed, shaking her body more. It hurt. It hurt so badly, but she couldn't help it in any way. "Erza, I swear- you gotta wake up!"

Someone pushed that creature back, embracing her with their cold, cold hands. "Idiot, don't fucking shake her! Jesus, we need to get her to the infirmary!"

_Natsu… Gray…_

"Wendy! _Wendy!_ "

She was being moved. To where, she didn't know.

But she had save her family. That was all that mattered. They were safe.

_Natsu, Gray… you better win this thing…_ Everything went dark.

* * *

As Erza was carried away, a numbness ran over Lucy. It wasn't a panic-attack feeling, where all of her limbs went numb and began tingling, but it was emotional. How many people could she hurt in one week? How many people wanted to sacrifice themselves for her, despite only knowing her for two weeks?

" _Wh- fire again!_ " Jose yelled, gone from the screen as he had walked somewhere within the Phantom Lord guild. An angry, yet confused mumbling spread through the crowd of creatures in front of the guild. " _Fifteen minutes?! What do you mean you need to recharge for fifteen minutes?_ "

So Lucy's theory was right. They had a witch on their side. That probably explained how they had just _moved_ their entire guild to a complete other town.

A few moments later, Natsu returned to Lucy's side, a grim expression on his face. He had blood residue on his hands, although it seemed as if he had tried to wash it off. At this moment, however, Lucy couldn't concentrate on the blood, although that would make her worries go away. All that could even cross her mind was of how many lives that could and probably would be lost today.

Jose returned to the screen, causing every creature to tense up, ready to attack.

" _Alright, fairies, you get fifteen minutes to hand over Miss Heartfilia,_ " he spoke with a wicked smile on his black-painted lips. " _If you are to fail that one task... we will fire again. You don't have Titania up your sleeve this time it seems._ "

"You bastard!" shouted Bisca, who was holding a shaking Asuka in her arms. By her side, Alzack was glaring grimly at Jose.

To that, Jose just snickered. There was nothing human left in him. He was a monster- no, that would be an insult to actual monsters. He was nothing but scum on earth, waiting to be eliminated. Lucy was determined to be the reason for that.

However, in the midst of her murderous thoughts, a scream- no, multiple screams soared through the whole area - its source from the big screen. The sound of whips swishing through the air, then hitting skin slashed through her ear-drums as she realized what was happening. Someone was being tortured on her behalf – and she was sure she knew who it was.

" _LUCY! FUCK, HELP US!_ " a scream ripped through the invisible speaker, making all eyes land on Lucy. Lucy who was shaking. Who was realizing who that scream came from.

"Loke," Lucy whispered, her brown eyes growing watery. Her right hand moved to her quivering mouth, holding back her sobs. "He's… alive?"

" _While these agonizing fifteen minutes are passing by, I thought we should give Miss Heartfilia a little inspiration,_ "Jose snickered, stroking his chin. " _So, if Lucy Heartfilia surrenders peacefully, the lion, his wife, and the baby will be left alone. I repeat, if Lucy Heartfilia surrenders peacefully, the lion, his wife, and the baby will be left alone._ "

Natsu kept a careful eye on her. She could feel his eyes drilling into her neck, but that wasn't where her main focus was.

" _I-I'm sorry, Lucy! Ahh! AAHHHHH!_ " the shriek from Aries was high-pitched and startled even the fiercest of Fairies.

Suddenly she began walking out of the shade, her hood still hanging loosely around her neck. She didn't seem to notice before Mira yanked her back into the shadows, quietly scolding her for almost burning herself. Lucy, however, didn't break away her gaze from the giant base in front of her, playing the screams of her beloved, apparently not-so-dead friends. She was stuck in her own head for sure.

Mira's hand was still holding Lucy's arm tightly, but soon Lucy jerked her arm free, throwing her hood over her head, as she set off into sprint. Her eyes had tightened – tighter than she had ever felt them before – and her fangs had shot out of her gums, leaving a metallic taste in her mouth. She could absolutely _not_ lose the same people twice. Even if she didn't understand _how_ they were alive, it didn't matter, because their existence seemed to be painful at this moment, and she was determined to stop that.

"Natsu," Mira hissed, causing Natsu to jump into action immediately. Behind Lucy, she heard her werewolf friend catching up to her – especially since she wasn't using all of her vampire speed – and grabbing her around the waist.

"Luce, it's a trick," he warned, struggling against her immense strength. He tightened his grip around her, to the point where it _almost_ hurt, but Lucy was smarter. She struggled harder against his grip, hearing him let out a short, pained groan. "They are playing ya right into a trap!"

Lucy shook her head furiously, her tears running freely. "No! I heard them! They are alive! I have to save them!"

Slowly, but surely, Natsu was dragging her back to the rest of the group where Wakaba and Macao was ready to grab her. She recognized the same kind of strength as Natsu from the elder werewolf, but Wakaba was just a little behind in that category. Still, she was held tightly by the elder men, the noise of her mind overpowering the yells and demands being thrown around her.

"Let me go!" Lucy roared, trying to rip her arms free. They used her panicked state as an advantage to overpower her. Tears were spilling from her eyes as she screamed, "I have to save them! Th-they are in pain!"

"Mira, you have to put her to sleep," she heard someone say. It angered her. She was furious. She was a big girl, yet these creatures treated her like a child. "Get her to Reedus. We'll fight!"

Once again, Lucy roared, attempting and failing to get free from the grips of her guild mates. She must have been acting like a crazy person, but all she could think about was her friends in pain. Their agonizing screams echoed through her mind, and there was absolutely nothing she could do because these creatures _didn't let her_.

Suddenly she felt a tingling sensation on her face, and as she looked up, she was met by Mira's hand extremely close to her face, as well a glittery mist surrounding her sight. She hissed at Mira, something she'd surely regret, cursing everyone around her and their mothers as well. Soon after, though, she felt her eyelids grow heavy, and no matter how hard she fought it, her eyelids kept closing.

"I can't lose them again," she slurred, tasting her own tears. The world around her was turning black, and she was losing all power she previously held in her body. As she fell forward, she was caught by someone, most likely Mira.

" _You won't. I promise ya, Luce."_

Then she passed out.

* * *

"Well, fuck," Natsu cursed, his hands balling into a fist as Reedus quickly rushed the sleeping vampire away. The anger inside him was immense. Lucy had had her whole family taken away from her, and now, they were _taunting_ her with the voices of her dead relatives. He had no idea how they were doing it, but at this point, he was beyond ready to kick some Phantom Lord ass.

" _Welp, that was surely dramatic,_ " Jose commented with a sadistic smirk. He licked his lips, as if he was feeding on pain (which wasn't far from the truth), as he said, " _I guess it's time to let you play. While you do so, I would suggest rethinking your decision of handing Lucy Heartfilia over._ "

"Never, you fucken bastard!" Natsu yelled, feeling Gray's firm hand on his shoulder holding him back.

Then the big doors of the opposing guild opened, and out stormed an army of vampires. They were around the same amount as the creatures remaining outside Fairy Tail, which seemed rather fair – if you could even begin to call this situation fair. The issue? All of them were running in daylight, not covered up, and not burning.

The vampires were acting as if the sun was no problem for them, and that was a big fucking issue.

"How are they in the sun?" Cana exclaimed, turning herself towards Gray. Shaking him violently, she exclaimed once again, "How the _fuck_ are they in the sun?"

"'Fucks I'm supposed to know that?" Gray hissed, pushing Cana away from him as he turned towards the running vampires. They weren't using their vampire speed, which only suggested that they weren't trying to reach the guild fast, but only intimidate them.

"Everyone, we need to keep it together!" Mira pleaded, turning the attention to the beautiful fairy. "We don't know how they run in the sun, but they are coming right at us, so we need a plan! Natsu, Gray, Elfman, Macao, and Cana will be offence, Wakaba, Juvia, Lisanna, Evergreen and Freed will be defense!"

As Mira began commanding the rest of the creatures, a smirk slipped onto Natsu's face. He didn't care about the rest of the plan, he just knew that he was offence, and he had absolutely no complains about that. Maybe except one.

It had been months since Natsu had had a damn good fight, and that scared him. It scared him because he didn't know if he could control himself. He usually preferred to rely on his human strength, but it would be so much easier – not to mention, funnier – to use his werewolf powers in this fight. So he did.

Feeling the familiar, satisfying ache spread through his body, he _felt_ the growing of dog-like fur around his neck, back, and face, as well as the sharpening of his teeth. Although he couldn't see it himself, he knew for a fact that his eyes had gone yellow and canine-like. His reflexes were sharp as ever, and he could predict what was going to happen from a mile away. The scents enhanced around him, as well as the noise. This was his element.

And now he was going to kick so major Phantom Lord ass.

Letting out a howl, he smirked as he shot forwards sprinting towards the vampires coming right at them. Behind him, he knew Gray was running – and probably naked – so he didn't even have to call for backup. Not that he needed it, of course, but it was nice knowing that he had it.

A man had noticed his intentions, and used his vampire speed block his way. Too bad that Natsu, himself, possessed a little speed that was probably comparable with – if not the same as – the vampiric speed. His eyes flicked towards the vampires raised fist, and soon everything seemed to turn into slow-motion.

With an outstretched hand, Natsu blocked the vampire's attack, using his other hand to land a blow above the vampire's kidney. The vampire hissed, but didn't seem to budge despite Natsu's powerful hit. Landing a hit against Natsu's neck, Natsu almost let out a choked cry, but resisted, returning the gesture with a punch directly in against his cheekbone. Natsu bathed in the satisfying sound of his enemy's cry of pain.

The vampire yelled through clenched teeth, fangs out as he hissed. As his body flew back, he raised his leg, and kicked Natsu in the chest. Natsu, however, barely flinched. His smirk just grew wider as he grabbed the vampire's leg, using it to slam him into the ground, breaking the cobblestone beneath him.

As the vampire showed no signs of consciousness, Natsu cheered, pumping his furry fist into the air. "Fuck yeah, fucker! Mess with my family again, I fuckin' dare ya!"

Only a few feet from Natsu, Gray was having his own fight with another vampire as he said, "Cool it, Flame-Breath. Keep it under control, alright?"

Natsu shrugged it off with a small huff, not caring for the words of discouragement. As another vampire charged at him, this one a smaller woman, he merely dodged her attack, grabbing her arm and twisting it behind her back, only stopping when he heard that satisfying crack from her shoulder. It was like music to his ears. He was a hunter, he was in his element.

As she screamed out, ripping her arm free, she gave him a cold glare, before charging at him again, using her incredible speed and strength to strike him directly in the guts, sending him flying. A sharp pain shot through his whole body, making him lose his composure, and let out a low growl of pain. He wasn't going to let a little slap to the stomach defeat him. In in mid-air, he twisted himself around, landing him perfectly on his feet. As the power from the strike pulled him backwards, he dragged his hand across the ground to steady himself, scraping his palm in the process. Raising his head as he came to a stop, he smirked at the girl in front of him.

Throwing the arm that Natsu had _just_ injured to the side, she signaled that it had healed up just fine.

_Fucking vampires…_

She looked almost too comfortable for a vampire to be in the sun. Like it had never been a problem to her. Her hand was resting against her side, and a patronizing expression was painted her face. It made him angry that her natural disadvantages didn't apply in this fight. Vampires were designed to not be able to go out in the sun, and now, apparently, that wasn't a problem anymore. They were basically invincible.

"How can ya go out in the sun?" Natsu barked, straightening himself up. The pain from the attack was basically gone, but he knew that it would bruise. He didn't care though. That was what made it fun.

The girl snorted, rolling her eyes as she said, "Wouldn't you like to know that, huh?"

"Yeah, that was part of the reason I asked," he deadpanned, balling his hands into fists. That girl had some nerves.

This time, he charged first, lunging his fist towards her face. Quick as she was, she dodged his hand, throwing herself under his outstretched arm, and getting in a blow to his kidney. Letting out a muffled cry, Natsu growled at the girl, tripping her over with a kick to shin.

A squeak left her lips, but she never once hit the ground. Mid-fall, she jumped to her other foot, spinning around, and landing a hard kick to Natsu's back. It sent him stumbling, but Natsu had a suspicion that their strengths matched. Mimicking – more like _mocking_ – her spin, Natsu added a pirouette to the act, knowing it would taunt her.

That would just make the fight more interesting.

Natsu didn't know why – well, he had a suspicion – but when he was in his half-werewolf form, everything around him became irrelevant. His focus was utterly and completely placed on whatever fight he was in. Usually, that was a good thing. It meant that he would win almost every fight, but he also went completely brutal. It was like an addiction. Every time he beat someone, the wolf in him craved more violence. He still had his human brain, but it was heavily fogged with some wolf-ish thoughts.

Just as he was about to land a brutal blow – one that would definitely hurt her badly – the magical speaker went off, catching his attention.

" _Sue, report to base_ ," Jose boomed, catching the attention of all the fighting creatures. It seemed as if the vampires didn't bat an eye to what Jose had just yelled, but the rest of the creatures seemed fairly confused. Nonetheless, they continued to fight as the vampires ignored the sudden outburst.

The girl in front of him, however, had tensed up, her mouth partly opened. Natsu noticed a small tremble shoot through her body. Was she scared?

Quickly rolling her shoulders, she sent Natsu a smirk, before walking past him. "Welp, guess that's my cue to leave."

Natsu gaped at her. "What?! Ya can't just leave mid fight!" He hastily lunged after her, but missed as the girl, supposedly named Sue, grabbed his wrist, her eyes twinkling tauntingly as she pulled it behind his back – just as he had done to her. She didn't snap it like he had done to her, though, but it did hurt like a bitch, due to her vampiric strength.

"Sorry, but duty calls, you know," she sang, letting go of his arm. Natsu was too stunned – and curious – to acknowledge the werewolf in him, yelling at him to catch her, and make her finish the fight.

Suddenly she set into sprint, her inhumane speed to fast for any of the other creatures to catch up with her.

"I'd watch your back if I was you, werewolf," she murmured as she strode by him. Natsu raised his brow as he watch her sprint back to her base, simply striding by her comrades. As she looked back at him, by the door of Phantom Lord, she narrowed her eyes. "Silver hurts like a _bitch_." Her last sentence was a whisper, and it didn't seem as if any of the other vampires heard her. Did she just speak to him through his thoughts?

With that, Natsu ran off, finding the next opponent to take his animalistic violence out on - completely forgetting what Sue had just told him.

* * *

_Lucy was hiding in the attic - well, it wasn't really hiding if everyone knew where she was. They just knew better than disturbing her. That was the kind of family the Zodiacs were. They knew when she needed to be alone, and right at this moment, the ten year old Lucy Heartfilia desperately needed to be alone._

_Suitors. Suitors?! She had walked in on her father having an important business meeting. As she quickly had apologized and turned around, she heard something that would forever haunt her._

" _She's a polite one, I have to say," one of the weird business men had pointed out. "When it's time to find her a suitor, please don't hesitate to contact me. My son, Dan, would be a perfect match."_

_A suitor! Despite her age, Lucy knew what a suitor was. She was a smart girl after all, and she knew that she wanted nothing to do with that._

_So now she was sitting in the attic of the mansion, hugging her knees close as well as her doll, Gonzales. In reality, the doll's name was Michelle, since Gonzales wasn't 'girly enough', but Gonzales was the doll's middle name._

" _Lucy," she heard a chirping voice nearing the attic. She new it was her mother's voice, and she knew her mother would most definitely calm her, but right now she was sad. She wasn't in the mood to be cheered up, so instead of replying she kept quiet._

" _Lucy, honey, I know you're up there," Layla called out. As Lucy didn't dare to move, let alone respond, she heard her mother begin to climb the ladder. There was nothing to do, her mother was going to cheer her up - such was her life._

_As the trapdoor to the attic opened, her mother's beautiful face popped up, a concerned expression painted across it. Getting up from the ladder, she walked towards her daughter._

" _Lucy, there's someone I'd like you to meet," she tried softly as she squatted down beside the pouting girl. Suddenly, Lucy began tearing up, and it didn't take long before Layla opened her arms._

" _I don't want to marry him, mommy!" she cried, entering her mother's tight embrace. Her mother looked at her with a confused gaze, but kept her embrace firm nonetheless. For a few moments, she just cried into her mother's shoulder, being comforted by her presence. "D-daddy and the business-" she gasped as she let out a sob. "th-the business men were talking about suitors, and-"_

_Her mother held her close as she cried out. "It's okay, baby. You don't have to do anything you don't have to."_

_Remembering that her mother wanted to introduce her to someone, she whined through her still falling tears. "I don't want to marry him, mommy," she whimpered._

" _You wound me, princess," a voice sounded from the entrance of the attic. Looking over her mother's shoulder, she saw a young boy, around her age, holding open the trapdoor. He had spiky, orange hair, and sharp glasses. He wore a self-confident smirk with a hint of teasing from his last statement. "But I'll respect your choice."_

_Still having her arm around Lucy's shoulder, her mother withdrew her other arm, holding it out for the boy. Quickly, the boy settled himself beside Layla, accepting her arm around his shoulder._

" _Lucy, this is Loke," her mother said softly, squeezing Lucy's shoulder. "He's going to live here from now on as a part of the Zodiacs. His parents are-" Her mother quieted down, glancing down at Loke._

" _It's all good, Layla," Loke replied, a fiery glint in his eyes. First name?! Newcomers to the mansion usually called her mother for Mrs. Heartfilia. "My parents unfortunately passed away two months ago, but they were a part of the Zodiacs a long time ago."_

_Lucy huffed, glaring at the boy who was apparently trying to steal her mother. "Well, I don't remember them."_

_The quirky smirk on Loke's face only widened. "Well, they worked for King."_

_Despite the fact that another child was being hugged by her mother, Lucy's eyes softened up. Many of the Zodiacs were orphans and all Lucy could do was empathize with them._

_Extending her hand towards him, she introduced herself as he shook her hand. "I'm Lucy Heartfilia."_

" _Loke Leo Regulus at your service, princess," he introduced him, winking at her._

_Turning her head to her mother, she deadpanned, "I still don't want to marry him, mommy."_

_As Loke choked on his own spit dramatically, her mother covered her mouth as she giggled, "You won't have to, honey. And when the time comes, we'll find loophole. We always do."_

Lucy let out a groan as she awoke from her slumber. One thing she knew for sure was that she wasn't in her house, since the surface below her wasn't soft in any way. In fact she was pretty sure she was laying on the ground. Opening her eyes, she was met by a brightly lit room, which seemed to be a barn.

"Oh, good," she heard someone sigh in relief. Turning her head, she saw Reedus – a Srirron she had only met a few times. "I thought Miss Mirajane's spell was a little too powerful." His species was largely built, their skin was scales, and they great artists. Not for artistic purposes, of course, but for camouflage in the wild. In this day and age, that was kind of unnecessary, but the species kept on going. Some said that they were the descendent of chameleons since they could always blend in with their surroundings, and attack when their opponent was least expecting it.

Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes, a dull ache hammering within her head. "What the hell happened?" She hadn't meant to curse, but she still felt a little groggy after her dream. Even though it was a dream, it had actually just been a flashback to the time she met Loke. She didn't know why, but-

Then it all slapped her across the face. Erza's lifeless looking body lying on the ground, Loke and Aries' screams, being held back, and put asleep. By now, when she had calmed down, she felt rather ashamed of her behavior. It wasn't like her to lose control like that. She hadn't even been hungry! Yet she still lost her composure.

"Don't look so down, Miss Lucy," Reedus offering her a hand, which she took, letting herself be pulled to her feet. "You're safe here." _Yeah, but the others aren't._

Brushing off the dust that had collected on her top, Lucy looked around. "How long have I been out?"

"No more than ten minutes," Reedus assured her, causing her to give him a confused glance. "Miss Mirajane's sleeping spell usually just puts you out for a few minutes if you're resisting, which… you were."

Lucy nodded slowly, looking down on her feet as a heavy feeling enveloped her body. The whole guild was fighting on her behalf. Getting hurt, risking their lives, and the guild. Everything they had built up until now would potentially be destroyed because of her. A person they had known for two weeks.

Then she remembered the fifteen minutes countdown. If she had been out of ten minutes that meant that they there was only five minutes left. Suddenly she felt her breath hitch in her throat. There was five minutes left until they would fire again and that was all her fault. Everything that was happening was her _damn_ fault!

"Miss Lucy, pl-please calm down," Reedus tried, guiding her to sit on a bale of straws. Her breathing was getting uneven, but she wouldn't let it. That, however, was easier said than done as her breaths came out shaking, and she felt the prickling of tears forming in her eyes.

She hated crying. She was so tired of always fucking crying! All these emotions were like a second puberty, but instead of hormones, she got inhumane mood swings, intense panic attacks, and an uncontrollable train of thoughts. It was un-fucking-fair.

Through her blurry state, she heard Reedus trying to calm her down with soothing words, his hand rubbing her back, but all she could think about was about all of her friends lying dead on the ground. That was bound to happen.

Suddenly a loud crash erupted throughout the barn, catching the attention of Lucy and Reedus. Lucy didn't even have to look towards the source of the sudden noise to realize who it was. The scent was a big indicator.

She did, however, face the intruders, and despite knowing who it was, her dead heart felt like it restarted for a second. Lucy didn't know if she would ever get used to seeing Gajeel's face when all she could think of was that night.

Gajeel stood tall as he was, his hands in fists, and his expression mean. Beside him, a short, tan girl stood, a serious look on her face. Neither of them looked particularly happy about being here, and Lucy couldn't say that she didn't feel the same way.

"Gajeel," Lucy whispered, her brown eyes wide as they could be. Whether it was just fear or surprise, she couldn't tell, but she had a pretty good idea that it was a mix of both.

"Hey, bunny-girl," he spat, his voice dripping with venom. Lucy, however, saw through him immediately. His eyes were mean looking as they always were, but behind them was a hint of regret and anger. At least that was what she told herself. "Think it 'bout time we finish this shit, don'tya think?"

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! That was intense, huh? Welp, I hope you enjoyed this week's chapter!
> 
> Please leave a comment and tell me what you liked/disliked/hope/predict/etc. Anything you though was interesting enough to leave a review for ahahah! But in all seriousness, just tell me what you think c:
> 
> Until next time!
> 
> /Sofie


	10. Sunburned

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone!
> 
> So sorry for the lack of updates! I really didn't want to update when FFNET (where I also post) didn't work probably, but it seems to be working alright by now!
> 
> As always, thanks to my editor, Animenerdd8, for editing! Sorry for being a little pushy this week, but thank you for being such an amazing editor!
> 
> Hope you enjoy this chapter!
> 
> Trigger warning: Explicit torture

_**PSA: IDK IF THE LAST CHAPTER REACHED YOUR EMAILS BUT IT DIDNT REACH MINE SO PLEASE GO READ THAT IF YOU HAVENT** _

* * *

No matter how many they took down, no matter how brutally they injured them, more kept coming – or they kept coming back. Of course they did. After all, none of them were staked down, but wouldn't that be fairer? These vampires were trying to kill the guild members, yet all that Fairy Tail did was injure them enough to hold them back for a while. Wouldn't it be fair to just kill them? Gray thought so.

He was almost at the open front doors of the Phantom Lord guild, yet he kept getting attacked from every side. Slamming his fist into the palm of his hand, he let out a battle cry as he sent thousands of small spears of ice towards the group of vampires running right at him. He had to win this. He had to win this for Ur.

_"You're not going!" Ur exclaimed harshly, slamming down the dishes she was currently washing. Ten-year-old Gray didn't even flinch at the sudden outburst, but he couldn't deny that the older Izling was intimidating._

_In their small cottage, in northern Fiore, lived Ur, Lyon, and Gray – it had been that way for months. Ur had taken him after he had been left with his parents' corpses and a 'calling card' from the infamous vampire, Deliora. It hadn't been more than a few months, but Ur did her best to make sure that Gray – and another Izling his age, Lyon – felt loved and cared for, as well as continuing their training in becoming the best Izlings they could._

_But despite all of this, the wound of the loss of his parents was still fresh – not even scabbed over. Therefore, Gray had become very sullen, living his life like a schedule. Wake up, eat, train, eat, train, stare at the ceiling, ignore Lyon, eat, and sleep. He withdrew from talking to other Izlings on his age, only occasionally having longer conversations with Lyon. Despite all of that, Gray still talked to Ur, and that was usually during training._

_To sum up, he wasn't a very vocal child. Today was different though._

_He had found Deliora's whereabouts – well, Lyon had heard a rumor about it and had told Gray. The vampire had a hideout, only a day's travel on foot. He had to find that son-of-a-bitch vampire, and make him pay for what he did to his parents._

_"Why not?!" Gray protested, slamming his hands on the wooden table, almost tipping over the cups. Lyon was quick to grab his own, glaring at Gray as he took a sip of his juice._

_"Because I say so," Ur argued, setting down the wet plate in her hand. Wiping off her hands on her pants, she settled herself at the table, keeping her squinted eyes on him. "You're going to get yourself killed. You're not strong enough."_

_Her words stung, but Gray didn't let her see that. She had to understand that this was what he needed to do to get peace of ming. He needed to avenge his parents. "You weren't there. I was. I saw the way he brutally murdered-"_

_"Enough!" Ur yelled, making Gray flinch. Never once had she yelled at him. Sure, she would scold him from time to time, but never in this way. Anger was flaring in her eyes, and it scared him. It scared him because that meant that she was about to have the last word. "You won't feel better from revenge. All that will come from that is more regret and sorrow."_

_Gray, still in shock from her sudden outburst, didn't move, taking in her words. She was so wrong. She had never been more wrong about something in her life. Gray's peace wouldn't come before he had taken down Deliora, and until then, he would continue training just so he would be strong enough to take him down. Now, when he had found him, it was the time to take action._

_"You are wrong," Gray echoed his thoughts, mimicking her glaring expression. By the side, Lyon was watching them closely, his expression clearly uncomfortable. "Deliora needs to be wiped out before he kills someone else. I can at least say that I tried to take him down if I die."_

_"You can't say shit if you die," Ur said firmly, leaning back in her chair. "If you leave this house to go find him, you leave this house for good."_

_Gray's mouth gaped open, and he couldn't believe she just said that, but he knew she was bluffing. When he came back, they would welcome him with open arms, and the three of them could live like a family. He would have peace, Lyon and he would be trained by Ur, and everything would be alright again. Standing up abruptly, he walked towards the door, grabbing the big, fur coat, and opening the door out to the blizzard currently happening. Good. He needed the extra cold to recharge._

_Taking a last glance back, he saw Ur looking just as shocked as he did when she proposed the ultimatum. She hadn't expected him to leave, but he was going to. Lyon had his brows furrowed, and his eyes were glued to Ur as if he was expecting her to do something._

_Then Gray turned away, not looking back as he marched out in the snow, slamming the door behind him._

_If only it had ended some other way…_

Leaving the cottage that day was the biggest regret of his life. The result of his actions had been losing Ur, losing his bond with Lyon, and ending up with a ton more regret. More reasons to hate himself, more reasons to hate vampires. That was where it all started. At first, Deliora had just been a murderer, but after Ur's death, it wasn't just Deliora to blame, but every single vampire walking this earth. That had been his opinion for the longest time, but now… he wasn't so sure.

A thing he was sure of was that these vampires, however, were to blame. As they quickly recovered his attack, he gracefully dodged their strong punches and attacks, dancing around them as if this was the easiest thing he had ever done.

Placing both his palms out in front of him, he got ready to fire the next attack. "This is not only for Ur," he murmured, not missing the way they glanced at each other in confusion. He felt the coolness built up in his palms, the adrenaline building up inside of him. "This is for Lucy."

Ice and snow shot from his palms without as much as a warning. He smirked as he watched the vampires try to dodge, and scream out when they were hit.

* * *

Lucy didn't remember how she had gotten here, yet she knew this place wasn't the place she wanted to be right now. It radiated danger. Whether it was the hard wooden chair that her hands cuffed to or the fact that the scent of garlic was hanging heavily in the air, she couldn't tell. Just the stench of it made her feel weak. Every time she took a shaky breaths, her nose, throat, and chest burned. Her head felt light, and as she rolled her heavy head back, she felt her fingers tingle.

Opening her eyes, she saw stars - almost as if she was dehydrated, if vampires even got dehydrated – no, they just got hungry as fuck.

As the stars slowly vanished, she found herself in a small cell-like room, all the walls made of grey concrete. In front of her a big steel door was shut closed, with no door-knob on her side of the door. From a narrow window behind her, a stripe of sunlight painted the floor gold, covered by a small curtain. In no universe, whatsoever, could that be a good thing.

The last thing she remembered was meeting Gajeel and some other girl at Reedus' barn. Her probably knocked her out, and she prayed to whatever god she could think of, that Reedus was peacefully sleeping in a stack of hay, not injured in any way. But of course, Gajeel would win. He was older and stronger than her.

She knew this was Jose getting revenge on her. She needed to get out.

She pulled at the cuffs around her wrists, but they didn't budge one bit. She ripped again. Nothing happened. And again. Nothing happened. Then again, again, and again. No results. She was stuck, losing against some freaking metal.

"H-help me…" she croaked, her voice dry and hoarse. Every breath she took made her throat grow dryer, and she blamed the thick scent of garlic hanging in the air. She couldn't yell. She couldn't scream. She was stuck.

Down the hall, behind the big door, she heard footsteps and mutters. Because of her foggy state, she couldn't hear who it was, but she knew it meant trouble. Frantically, she ripped her cuffs again, crying out in frustration as they didn't budge.

As the footsteps got closer to her door, her breath hitched, and for some reason got stuck in her throat. Her eyes were watery, but she blinked away her tears, not wanting to give them the satisfaction of seeing her lose it.

From the steel door, various locks were heard being unlocked, and then a large beam of pink light shone through the cracks in the door. The door was pushed open, and the grim, pale face of Jose was revealed. His black painted lips were curled up in an evil grin under his mustache. Behind him, Gajeel stood, looking away as if he was ashamed. That, or he was just being plain cold. Lucy had given up on hoping for anything.

Neither of them seemed the least bit concerned about the garlic lingering in the air. In fact, they looked pretty comfortable.

"Jose…" she breathed, her voice not mustering any strength to speak up.

Closing the door, Jose crossed his arms as he glanced at the fatigued vampire sitting in front of him. Gajeel, standing right behind him, mimicking his body language.

"You've made quite the mess outside, princess," Jose commented, squatting down, and grabbing her chin to force her to look at him. His disgusting features stood out like a sore thumb on his face, and Lucy wanted to vomit just from looking at him. It wasn't just because of how ugly he was, but also because of the disturbing memories he held.

Letting go of her chin, he gently grabbed a piece of loose, blonde hair, sniffing in loudly as he murmured, "If you had just come with us willingly, all of this could have been avoided."

Lucy shivered at his creepy actions, trying to pry herself free from his disgusting hands. "Wh-what do you e-even want with me?"

Jose pushed himself to his feet, dusting himself off as he gave her a wicked grin. "Call me old-fashioned, but when I was younger, a vampire belonged to their creator for as long as said creator was alive. Or undead, as we are."

"Who c-came up with those stupid fucking rules?" Lucy found herself croaking, her one eye shut from the fatigue she was experiencing. Confused to where the sudden spurt of confidence came from, her lips quickly formed a thin line.

It was clear to see that Jose was taken aback by her words, and Lucy swore that she saw Gajeel's lips twitch slightly behind Jose.

"Well, _dear_ , the first vampires of course," Jose explained, his voice laced with fake sweetness. As he stepped back, he gestured for Gajeel to walk behind the chair Lucy sat in. Due to her fatigue, Lucy found herself not caring what was to happen to her – a choice she was soon to regret. "I wouldn't expect young vampires, like you, to understand that."

As Gajeel moved behind Lucy's chair, Jose leaned down slightly, gently tipping Lucy's head upwards so she looked at him. "You might want to bite your tongue next time, sweetheart," he advised through a murmur, letting go of her chin once again, nodding at Gajeel. "Sass is not appreciated from my side."

Then Lucy heard a yank, followed by the whole room being engulfed by sunlight, and she found herself in a world of pain.

The pain burned into her back, like red-hot iron blades skinning her flesh. She felt her skin crack and sizzle as the burns and blisters formed. A wave of nausea hit her as she could almost feel her skin crawl as the burns spread across her pale back.

Why the hell weren't they burning as well? They were vampires too, why was she the only one in pain?

Through her screams, she heard herself begging them to stop. Biting down sharply, she tried to stop herself from making anymore pleads, but as another wave of pain hit her, she found herself wanting nothing more than to fall unconscious. All pride be damned; all she wanted was for the pain to stop. So she screamed for mercy. Again, again, and again.

"PLEASE STOP!" she cried, sobs echoing from her chest as she gasped for the air that was infected by the poisonous garlic. It was almost comical. This situation was a textbook example of how to torture a vampire. Expose them to the sun and give them garlic, and boom – you got yourself a vampire at your mercy. But despite the supposed dark humor behind that logic, she couldn't bring herself to be amusement. In her darkest moments, she could usually always find some kind of dark humor to cope with, but the torture she was going through was beyond her humoristic abilities. "AH! AHH! LET ME GO!"

Her fangs shot through her gums as if she was going to try to scare them away. That was her body's way for fending for herself, but in a room with two other vampires, that wasn't the scariest thing she could think of. Nonetheless, through her gritted teeth, she let out a growl, partly of pain, partly for intimidating purposes.

Another sizzling sound from the blisters popping on her back made yet another wave of nausea ride through her, and before she knew it, she was emptying up the contents of her stomach. Blood pooled by her shaking feet, but there was nothing she could do it about it. Her screams became choked as the blood was fighting with her screams to get out first.

Despite telling herself not to care about what they thought of her right now, Lucy couldn't help but feel shame when Jose huffed in disgust at her behavior, but it wasn't her fault. She kept telling herself that, she just had to learn how to believe it.

She had no more intact skin on her back, but it something – anything that was left whole – kept on bubbling and burning. But there was nothing left to burn – or so she thought. As she leaned forwards, trying to protect her cuffed arms, she felt Gajeel yank away her arms free from the cuffs, exposing them to the sun.

Everything was painful. Could she even remember what it was like not to hurt? The exposure of her arms left her thighs open to the sunlight, burning them raw as well. The only thing she had left intact was her was her face, torso, and shins, and she had a sneaking suspicion that they weren't going to be safe much longer.

The pain was becoming unbearable. Nothing like she had ever felt before, and suddenly she truly wished for nothing but death. As she felt her non-existing skin melt off of her flesh, her blood spilling everywhere, she wanted to die. As her tender, raw flesh began igniting, flames starting to kindle from her nerves, she wanted to die.

She wanted to die, not caring about the people she might leave behind. She wanted to die, craving the cold to take away her pain. It didn't matter if she was 'too young to die'. One and a half month of vampirism had exposed her to the sun many times, but not more than a few seconds. She always made sure of staying away, but now she knew what a painful ride she was in for. All they had to do was pull away a curtain and suddenly they had her screaming for mercy.

How pathetic she was…

She needed the nothingness to take away the overwhelming pain.

And then it left her lips. "PLEASE JUST FUCKING KILL ME!" she screamed with all the power her lungs could manage. Her screams continued, soon turning into sobs and wails. It was too unbearable. Flames were blazing across her back, and she cried, and cried, and cried.

Everything hurt. Nothing was getting better. There was no relief, and she there surely was no skin or flesh on her back. But she didn't care at this point. She just wanted everything to stop.

"Please j-just KILL ME!" she sobbed, trying to fight against Gajeel's strong hands, but he didn't budge. There was no mercy from his side either, and the small hope of a bond from his side was long gone. She was all alone in this world.

A few more moments of her screaming and sobbing went on until Gajeel let go of her arms. Not questioning the action, she retracted her arms, holding them close to her shaded torso. The rumble of nausea at the back of her throat reappeared as she looked down at what was left of her arms. For once, she was glad that tears were streaming down her face, blurring the vision. All she was red. They were raw, and her pale skin was nowhere to be found. Nowhere but her right hand, where the Fairy Tail logo was shining bright with its pink, mocking color. It was as if it was screaming at her to stay alive for the people who were trying to defend her, which was unfair considering her situation. Couldn't the logo tell that all she wanted was to die?

Then the sunlight suddenly disappeared as Gajeel ripped the curtains closed, and the burning, ongoing pain was replaced with an unbearable stinging sensation. But despite the fact that it was unbearable, it wasn't the burning pain anymore. It wasn't her skin melting off, it was the aftermath of her skin melting off – and that was just a paper cut compared to that.

Still, she couldn't stop the tears from falling or the sobs leaving her lips. She still hurt. She was still in pain, and she wasn't healing. Hunger soared through her body, leaving her throat in flames. Her body was trying to heal her, but she had thrown up all the blood it could have used to heal. There was no mercy, not even from her body.

Through her blurry vision, she looked up to see what the hell Jose was doing, and what she saw almost scared her more than being burned alive (or half-alive, as she was a vampire). Jose was speaking into a magical looking device – a slim stick with a gemstone at the end that lit up every time he spoke.

"And that, Fairy Tail," Jose snickered, looking back at Lucy. He was broadcasting her suffering as if this was some kind of damn entertainment transmission. "was your precious Lucy Heartfilia."

Her sobs turned into quiet wheezes. There was no quick fix for injuries in her state. She needed blood. She needed it for the pain to go away - for her to heal, but all hope was lost. How painful could her existence be?

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!
> 
> I'm sorry it was so short, but I thought I would be forcing it if I wrote more. c:
> 
> I hope you enjoyed! Please leave a comment of what you thought!
> 
> Until next time
> 
> /Sofie


	11. Animalistic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, everyone!
> 
> So, so, so sorry about the late update! I'm in Catalonia atm, so I haven't really had time to update my stuff ;; but I had some downtime today as well as my lovely editor finishing this chapter (thank you so much, Animenerdd8, I owe you my life)
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

 " _And that, Fairy Tail," Jose snickered, looking back at Lucy. He was broadcasting her suffering as if this was some kind of damn entertainment transmission. "was your precious Lucy Heartfilia."_

_Her sobs turned into quiet wheezes. There was no quick fix for injuries in her state. She needed blood. She needed it for the pain to go away - for her to heal, but all hope was lost. How painful could her existence be?_

* * *

Natsu was in his element. No, it was more than that. It was his life. Fighting the bad guys, saving his loved ones, all that jazz. Every punch, kick, drop of blood, or any sort of violence really got his blood pumping. The adrenaline was sent crashing through his veins, plastering a sadistic smirk across his lips.

On the battlefield he wasn't Natsu. He was a wolf. Sure, he might still look human, but the extra strength, the excessive fur, his canine teeth, and the hungry glint in his eyes was far from human. He was a destructive force.

If he made one tactically placed jump, he would reach the door, but he was having way too much fun beating the living shit out of these sorry vampires. Besides, Lucy was safe. She was taken to Reedus, and Natsu trusted his guild mates with his life. With Lucy.

So he was allowed to have some fun. The only thing that didn't occur to him was the fact that the fifteen minute mark Jose had placed hadn't gone off. The guild was still (partly) intact, but he didn't notice. He was fully immersed.

Two vampires simultaneously charged at him, their footsteps catching his attention. One of them, a big built male, managed to get in a few punches to his shoulder and left arm, while he was distracted trying to stifle his counterpart in a chokehold. Natsu let out a groan through gritted teeth as he felt the hard punch. Trying to ignore the pain, he swung at the vampire who had hit him, only lightly brushing his cheek.

The vampire let out a mocking chuckle, clearly amused at the werewolf's inability to get in a hit. In the meantime, the other vampire, a muscular woman with a buzz cut, did a quick spin out of Natsu's death grip, and managed to kick him hardly in the back. A yelp – regrettably – left his lips, as he hunched over in pain.

But the pain motivated him to try harder. He could still keep in control if he used just a little bit more of his powers, right? He wasn't going to go completely savage, right? After deciding he was in control, and that he, in fact, could able to use just a little bit more power, he straightened himself up, a wicked grin on his lips.

"Ohhh, you shouldn't have done that," he warned, causing a confused expression to paint itself on the vampiric duo.

An animalistic snarl left his gritted teeth, as he suddenly jumped towards the female vampire, punching her hard in the stomach and sending her multiple feet back, keeled over on her knees and gasping for air.

He quickly spun around on his heel, only to receive a punch straight in his face. The mighty power from the vampire left Natsu with something wet running from his nose, and as it reached his lips he tasted his own blood. These bastards would pay.

Dodging the vampire's next blow – just by a centimeter – he crashed into the man, using every sense of strength he had to push him backwards. Reaching up behind the vampire's head, he caught him off guard, grabbing a fistful of his hair. As he crashed said vampires head to the ground, creating a pool of their blood by his feet, he heard someone call to him.

"Natsu, you need to control yourself," Elfman exclaimed, ironically enough using his horns to smash someone against a tree. "Losing control isn't manly!"

Natsu could only snicker. "Trust me, I'm in control!"

Yeah, he was in control. This was his element, right? This was his purpose. He was built to destroy, and he loved every second of it.

Yeah, he was in control - just until some speaker went off. Three soft warning tunes played before hell broke loose.

An ear-piercing scream shot through the air, holding so much agony that it almost hurt Natsu. Everyone, even the vampires, stopped their fighting, turning their heads to the guild. This time no screen appeared, but some kind of magical speaker boomed across the area, most likely alerting near-by citizens.

The screams never quieted down - they got worse. Every time they seemed to die down, a new wave of agonizing screams erupted, sending a wave of nausea through Natsu. It was just screams, but it was thought of what they were doing to the poor person. In between the shrieks, sobs forced their way out of the victim.

But it wasn't just any victim. He had heard her scream on many occasions. When he surprised her at her apartment, when she was having a panic attack, heck, even the first time he met her, when she was burned by the sun, she screamed. This, however, topped everything. Never had he heard Lucy Heartfilia in so much pain.

Everything stopped around him, and if it wasn't for the fact that the vampires around him was just as shocked as him, he would have been dead by now. His body had completely gone cold. His eyes were wide, and his eyes began to sting from not blinking.

The screams went on, and on, and on, and on. Behind them a sound of her pulling against metal enacted, as well as a sizzling sound. As if something was burning. Melting?

Despite being frozen in time, Natsu felt his body go into autopilot. Slowly, he moved towards the door of the terrible, monstrous guild who was currently hurting his dear friend. He was seeing red. Whoever was hurting Lucy – and that wasn't a hard guess – needed to feel the same pain, if not worse. No, they had to die, and Natsu had to be the one to do it. There was no stopping in his tracks now.

That was until her screams became verbal.

" _PLEASE JUST FUCKING KILL ME!_ " she screamed, the agony in her voice cutting through Natsu's heart. These bastards- no, these monsters were making Lucy wish she was dead. She didn't wish for the pain to stop. She didn't wish for relief. She wished for death.

He heard Gray, from behind him, curse loudly. From what Natsu was able to hear, it was meant to come out fueled with anger towards Phantom Lord, but he sounded more terrified than he did angry.

Elfman, who would in any other situation yell about how unmanly torture was, had gone quiet. Mira didn't look horrified, as Natsu had expected, but she looked disgusted. As Lucy's screams continued to echo through the streets of Magnolia, it wasn't only Natsu who felt his blood boil, but from the what he could see from Mira, her demonic attire was growing out, leaving her ready for bloodshed. The third Strauss, Lisanna, was gaping in her hand, tears rolling down her cheeks. Natsu couldn't blame her. Despite the irony, this was inhumane.

Creatures such as Cana and Wacaba were throwing various threatening statements towards the castle-like guild, as if the harsher their language was, the sooner they'd stop.

Natsu could only hope that the younger members of Fairy Tail were indoors, safe in the infirmary, so they didn't get traumatized by today's events.

" _Please j-just KILL ME!_ " she sobbed loudly, her voice becoming dry and hoarse from whatever they were doing to her.

But it didn't take Natsu a lot to figure out what it was. For some reason, he hadn't been able to smell her before, but right at that moment, the scent of burning flesh and fire was strong in the air. Without moving his body as his body was frozen, he turned his eyes towards the fighting guild members. Every single one with a heightened sense of smell, that being only Macao and Romeo, looked twice as horrified as everyone else.

Little, sweet Romeo was being held back by Cana, who was trying to keep away some sadistic vampire at the same time. He was covering his mouth and nose with his hand, tears streaming down his cheeks and onto his hand. He was in shock. How could someone do something so cruel?

And then there was Macao. He had been fighting off vampires in front of the guild, trying to keep them away from entering their precious guild. But now? He was staring directly at Natsu with these eyes that said, 'I know what you're about to do, but you better stop.'

" _And that, Fairy Tail,_ " Jose snickered through the speakers. " _was your precious Lucy Heartfilia._ "

Despite Macao being a kind of father figure to Natsu - though he would never admit that - Natsu had no problem disobeying that silent order. Because of right now, Natsu saw red.

Natsu didn't even let the voice recording end before he stormed towards the newly placed guild, furiously punching and bashing whoever was in his way.

Every little ounce of self-control he had left was gone. If he had thought he wasn't Natsu before, he was wrong. Now he was neither Natsu, nor a wolf, but a fucking beast.

* * *

Everything around her was white. The empty, grey cell was gone, and here she was; surrounded by nothing. If she concentrated enough, it was almost like the pain wasn't there, but nonetheless, there was still pain.

She didn't know where she was. Sure, she was in nothingness, but where said nothingness was, she wasn't sure. But what if it wasn't a place? Maybe this was just her final destination. Maybe she was dead after all. She could go see her parents and the Zodiacs.

The Zodiacs… Loke and Aries! Through her dazed state, Lucy briefly remembered their screams from before she was captured. It couldn't have been a trick. It was their voices! How do you extract dead people's voices?

Maybe she didn't mind dying. Surely, she'd wanted to die many times these past weeks, all thanks to the infamous Suicide Phase. If she died, would she meet with everyone? Would Aquarius yell at her for being reckless? Would Virgo ask to be punished? Would Taurus talk about her 'hot body' in front of her parents? Would her parents welcome her with open arms? Would her parents hold her, and call her 'their little, Lucky Lucy' as they used to?

Lucky Lucy? What kind of sick joke was that? If anything, she was a magnet of destruction, hurt, and misfortune. Lucky could be considered an antonym for her.

Suddenly, she felt herself get ripped away from her dazed state, where all of her senses came right back at her. The air smelled thickly of garlic, her body ached and burned from the previous torture, but the world around was still white. Why was she here? Why?

Realizing what position she was in, she yanked at the cuffs around her hands. After Gajeel had ripped her arms free - to burn them as well - he seemed to have cuffed them behind her chair. They felt raw, and she could almost hear her body screaming for blood. It was trying to heal itself, but with what resources?

Strangely enough, the burning sensation from the hunger wasn't there - and that was when she realized where she was.

"Took ya long enough, Bunny-girl," Gajeel huffed. As she dared to crack her one eye open, and lift her heavy head, she gazed up at Gajeel, who was leaning against the white nothingness, his arms crossed. "I almost got worried there for a second."

"W-why am I-" she coughed loudly as her voice was dry from screaming. "Why a-am I here?"

"You passed out. I'm still awake, but remember that thought-manipulation thing I used to warn ya?" As she nodded, he continued, "That's it. Jose went to do whatever the fuck a sociopath does in the middle of a fucken battle, so that gives us a lil' time to talk."

Lucy nodded, deep in thought. Her head fell again, exhausted by merely looking up. Why was this happening to her? What had she done? Before her mind could answer the obvious - well, obvious to her self-loathing mind – she remembered something.

"Where's Loke a-and Aries?" she asked, trying to keep her eyes open

Gajeel raised his brows, clearly not knowing who she was talking about. That was until his eyes went wide for just a split second as he seemed to remember.

"They ain't here," he admitted, his voice almost sounding apologetic. "I don't even know where Jose got their voices from, but the witch we got probably did some magic stuff to get those screams."

Lucy nodded slowly. In some way she was relieved that they hadn't actually been tortured, especially after what she had just gone through, but a part of her couldn't help but feel sad. It might have been selfish, but she didn't even know where they were, if they were alive, and all she wanted was her family back.

"Listen, from what I heard, Salamander got inside," Gajeel said, trying to ease her mood for some weird reason. For some reason, despite the fact that he had been part in literally murdering her entire family, and then brutally torturing her, she felt as if he was generally remorseful – although 'sorry' wouldn't fix anything, but it was a start.

"Who's Salamander?" she slurred, her mind not finding any results of this 'Salamander', except for hearing the name a few times.

"Natsu Dragneel. Rings a bell?"

Natsu… Natsu was coming! He was really coming to save her. Excitement buzzed through of the thought of getting out of this hell hole, but as always, her newborn brain reminded her that death would literally be better than leaving. Besides that, her mind was going crazy with ways he could get hurt, that would still be her fault.

"Stop that stupid overthinkin'," Gajeel barked, although there was a hint of softness hidden in his voice. "That shit ain't gonna help you stay alive."

"Why do you care?" she found herself asking. It was probably - most likely - supposed to be spat out; a way to make him feel shitty, but she didn't have the heart. He was kind of helping her after all. "You ju-just… helped him. You to-tortured me! W-why are you trying to be nice to m-me?"

Frustrated, Gajeel ran a hand through his black mane. "Oh jeez, Bunny-girl, don't cry," he begged. Lucy hadn't even realized she had begun crying until he said that. "I don't expect ya to respect me, or even forgive me, but I have my reason. I have people I care for, and he has a bullet with their names on. He has a bullet- or maybe more a stake with my name on. My hands are tied."

"Same," Lucy mustered to joke, shuffling her cuffed hands behind the chair. "I g-get it. It just hurt so much. I feel like…" she breathed deeply, fatigue rushing over her. "I'm going insane. I'm… scared."

"Good," Gajeel nodded, straightening himself up. Lucy cocked her head lazily, her hazy state not lessening. "Hold on to that fear. It's yer will to live."

* * *

Natsu's knuckles scraped against the walls of the guild. He still had no fucking idea how the big ass building had even moved in the first place, but he couldn't care less. Everything around him was moving in slow-motion, and his vision was wolf-like. When he felt as if he saw red, it wasn't a figure of speech. He literally saw red. It was his wolf brain telling him that he needed to be angry in his fighting. Someone hurt a person close to him, and they needed to pay.

Walking through the dark corridors of the guild, he almost chuckled to himself – he would if he hadn't been completely engulfed in his wolf instincts – because this entire building was the stereotypical building he thought of vampires living in. Everything was illuminated by torches; it looked like a castle from the outside; and everything had a dark, gloomy theme to it. It was almost humorous if it wasn't for the fact that deadly vampires inhabited this very building.

Vampires that hurt someone he cared about. Lucy…

Lucy! He remembered now. He needed to find her, and kill whoever hurt her. Her screams echoed through his mind, only encouraging his need to go on a rampage. He fastened his pace, his knuckles still scraping against the hard walls, until the skin broke. Good. The vampires would know he was there, and he would have a better opportunity to kill them.

As he walked by a torch, he ripped it from the wall, smothering the flames with his bare hand. That was why everyone called him stuff related to fire. He never had a problem with it. He even craved it at times. It brought him comfort, brought him warmth. His body was warm as well. It had always been that way. He used to start random fires around the guild, hence earning the nickname Flame-brain from Gray – that bastard.

Natsu's parents used to joke about the fact that he should probably have been a fire fairy. Too bad.

With the extinguished torch in his hand, he used some weird metal sculpture of some vampire to sharpen it. Wooden torches… how stupid could they be?

When he felt that the torch – now a usable stake – was sharp enough, he smirked as he looked up. What he was met by was horrific. Said statue was a motherfucking statue of Jose himself. Without thinking, Natsu let out a beastly growl, swinging his free hand towards the head of the statue, surprising himself when he 'accidentally' beheaded the metal figure.

"Hey!" someone yelled after him. He didn't even look up to see who it was. His nose told him it was a vampire – a vampire ready to die. A smirk spread on his lips as his grip on the stake tightened. "Guys, we got one!"

Oh, they were so wrong. They didn't have him. He had them right where he wanted them. A satisfied growl escaped his lips as his smirk curled wider. He glanced up to see three male vampires, all heading his way at a dangerously fast pace. He knew exactly how he would end them.

The vampire in front charged towards Natsu, his fist raised, directed towards Natsu's face, but Natsu gracefully twirled around – almost mocking said vampire – and dodged his well thought out attack. For any other creature, they would have been pulp right now, but vampires and werewolves instincts were close to the same.

As said vampire missed Natsu, he only got one foot to the ground before Natsu smashed his fist against the unprepared vampire, hitting him straight in the face, and hurling him towards the wall. A rush of adrenaline shot through Natsu's veins as he heard the stone wall crumbling beneath the vampire.

Tucked into the hem of his pants was the stake. It was a very convenient hiding place, because it was his grand finale. It might have been brutal – Natsu didn't care though; he had grown feral – but Natsu waited till he had knocked them all out, and then he'd make them watch him as he staked each of them. That's what they deserved. They were scum of the earth, he decided.

The second vampire let out an angry growl as he slid across the floor, attempting to tackle the werewolf, but Natsu jumped hastily, his knees hitting his chest, then landing hard on top of the vampire's shin. Judging from the roar of agony leaving the vampire's mouth, combined with the crunch of bone beneath his feet, he broke the poor guy's leg. How unfortunate.

Seeing as two were already taken care of, Natsu charged towards the third and final opponent, a murderous glint in his eyes. This was what he loved. He was made to murder. This was his destiny.

Raised fists, he charged for the shoulder, but his fist was caught. A competitor, huh? Just what he needed.

Raising his knee, he kicked the vampire's side, aiming for the kidney. The vampire let out a small groan, but didn't let his guard down. Natsu liked that in an opponent – someone who wasn't giving up so easily.

Nonetheless, he needed to win. This was for the guild. For Erza, for the injured, and most importantly; for Lucy. Using his other hand, he grabbed the man's wrist, using his beastly strength to snap it like a branch, freeing his other hand in the process. The vampire screeched in pain, grabbing his broken wrist as he growled at Natsu.

As the vampire was distracted, he kicked him against the wall, earning him a wail of surprise.

And suddenly they were face to face. Natsu grabbed the vampire by his collar, reaching behind his back to grab the stake he so neatly made. As he raised the wood above the vampires face – taunting him, showing him that this was his end – said vampire began to whimper.

"P-please no!" he begged, pressing his healthy hand against Natsu's arm. "I got a girl at home, please! Grant me mercy!"

"Mercy?" Natsu spat, his voice nothing like his human voice. It was layered, more harsh, more hoarse. "What about when Lucy asked for mercy, huh?" He pulled the guy slightly away from the wall, only to crash him against it again. "What about her feelings, huh? What about her family, huh?!"

"Pl-please!" he tried, clearly not knowing out to respond. Natsu didn't care.

Dragging the stake across the wall with a quick movement, just to make sure it hadn't gone dull for some reason, Natsu let out a rough barking laugh. Seeing his enemy shiver beneath him made him all the more excited. He raised the stake.

"I wouldn't do that, _cousin_ ," a rough voice sounded from the end of the twisted corridor. Looking up, Natsu was damn near snapped out of his murderous state. At the end of the twisted corridor, Gajeel Redfox stood leaned against the wall, his arms crossed with a casual look on his face. Didn't he care that they were in a middle of a god forsaken war?

"Hey, Gajeel," Natsu choked, still holding the terrified vampire by his collar. "Long time no see, huh?"

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, boy, some Gajeel and Lucy bro time, and some Natsu going feral ;) what more can you ask for? (A lot, I know, your wishes may be granted soon)
> 
> please leave a comment of what you thought, criticism or excitement - anything! thank you!
> 
> Until next time
> 
> /Sofie


	12. Relative Discussions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, everyone!
> 
> Hope you are all doing great. Sorry for the late update, things has been really hectic, but I'm proud to present chapter 12! Thanks to everyone who supports me through kudos', but especially commenters. It means a lot to me!
> 
> As always, thanks to my amazing editor, Animenerdd8 on FFNET, for being such a great friend and editor c:
> 
> Hope you enjoy this week's chapter!

 

* * *

" _I wouldn't do that,_ _ **cousin**_ _," a rough voice sounded from the end of the twisted corridor. Looking up, Natsu was damn near snapped out of his murderous state. At the end of the twisted corridor, Gajeel Redfox stood leaned against the wall, his arms crossed with a casual look on his face. Didn't he care that they were in a middle of a godforsaken war?  
_

" _Hey, Gajeel," Natsu choked, still holding the terrified vampire by his collar. "Long time no see, huh?"_

* * *

Lucy uncrossed her shaky legs for the fifteenth time in the past hour, sweat rolling down her forehead. The pain was unbearable. She desperately tried to find a comfortable position, but nothing helped, and everything burned. Her body wasn't healing properly, probably from the lack of blood, but also from trying to keep her alive – or undead. Despite not having a heart, her body was trying its hardest not to make whatever that kept her alive going. It prioritized that before healing her burning, open wounds, much to Lucy's misfortune.

As she had woken up from her pain-induced slumber, she found herself in the same cell she had been in before, but this time she was alone. Her heightened senses weren't working properly, so she couldn't hear how the battle was going, and that frightened her. She couldn't hear any familiar voices, only the occasional running vampire outside her cell.

Unwillingly, a whimper escaped her lips. That was all she felt like she had been doing for the past months. Whimper, cry, and scream. Was she really that big of a crybaby? Lucy thought so, yes. On the one hand, it could be because of the newborn phase, but on the other, she hadn't seen other people from Fairy Tail cry as much as she did. Was she just the weak link?

Lucy shook her head, regretting it instantly as a headache surprised her. She couldn't afford to think that way. She needed to be strong. From now on, it was a waiting game, and the suspense was killing her.

Then everything changed. It was like her mind was skipping every five minutes because suddenly, Jose was pacing in front of her, and by the look on his face, he wasn't happy in the slightest.

For a few minutes, he just walked back and forth in the cell, grumbling incoherent words that Lucy deemed negative. Something was happening, and seeing Jose so upset only made Lucy feel more optimistic.

"Despicable fairies," he yelled, punching the wall as he reached it. The concrete crumbled at his feet.

So Fairy Tail was winning? Of course they were.

"They're ru-ruining your plan," she breathed, her eyes locked on the burned flesh of her bent back arms. "And you're being a baby about it." The last part might have been overkill, Lucy realized, but she couldn't help but feel proud of herself for not stuttering. The pain made it almost impossible for her teeth not to clack together, or her breath to hitch every time she moved.

Jose huffed, continuing his pacing in front of the door. "Cocky, are we? As I said before-" he stopped his pacing for a minute, squinting his cold, dead eyes at her. "-you need to learn to bite your tongue."

And with that, he turned to the door, opening the different locks with ease – as if this was a place he came often. It wouldn't surprise Lucy if this cell had been used to torture other creatures before, but the thought still disgusted her.

"I'm going to find that damn witch," he explained, more reciting it to himself than telling Lucy. But then he threw her a sadistic glance over his shoulder. "Then I'll take you with me. Then both you and the Fairy scums will learn not to mess with creatures like me."

The door slammed shut as Jose left the cell, leaving Lucy to try to stay awake, but also to her thoughts. Where was he going to take her? She didn't understand. What had she done? Why was her existence something she should be punished for?

Then she remembered. That was her tragic fate. The one Gajeel had been telling her about. She was to become Jose's _fucking_ bitch.

* * *

Natsu gritted his teeth together, using every last drop of his self-control to remain in his feral-mode. The murderous mode he had previously been entrapped in was slowly fading as he turned his head to talk to his 'long lost' cousin. This animalistic spell he was under was what he needed to save Lucy – and get his well-deserved revenge on Jose for hurting his family. Now, that was fading.

"What do you want, Gajeel?" Natsu hissed, letting go of the vampire he was holding by the collar. As the vampire hit the ground, he let out a whimper as he crawled away.

"Can't a man want to see his cousin every once in a while?" Gajeel joked, side-eyeing the quivering man on the ground.

Natsu let out a strangled laugh at Gajeel's pathetic attempt at a joke. "You know, I really should kill ya."

Sighing, Gajeel ran his hand through his black mane. Between the two of them, besides the way they talked, there was no indication that they were even remotely related. That, however, wasn't really an uncommon thing in Natsu's family. His sister had blue hair, for crying out loud.

"Despite the fact that I would let ya, I think it would be pretty fucken stupid considering the situation." Gajeel shot back, a playful smirk on his face. How could he be so calm and collected when there was a damn battle ongoing?

"Her blood is on ya," Natsu noted, feeling the anger build up inside of him. From where he was standing, he moved as fast as he could, grabbing the collar of the older vampire. Despite being significantly shorter than Gajeel, Natsu didn't let that stop him from pulling his cousin closer. "What. _The fuck_. Did ya do?"

Gajeel didn't seem to mind. He actually looked a bit guilty, almost as if he was reliving whatever he had done. He looked pained, although he did the best to keep up his bad-guy attitude.

"If you use that big head of yours, what do ya think I did?"

As he had done before, Natsu slammed Gajeel into the wall, satisfied by the small grunt escaping Gajeel's tight lips. "I think you tortured her to the point she begged to get killed! Is that something ya like Gajeel?" He slammed him back into the wall, flinching as Gajeel grabbed him by the shoulders, easily pushing him off. "Huh, Gajeel? _Is that something ya like to do?!_ "

It didn't matter that Gajeel was his cousin. He could kill that bastard right now, and his shaky hand moving towards the stake sitting in the hem of his pants wasn't even concerning him.

"What do you think, Salamander?" Gajeel roared, pushing the werewolf further away from him, his face scrunched up in irritation. "Do ya think I'm a sadist? Well, think again! I made it my personal mission to make sure she stays alive!"

"Why?! All you've done is make her suffer!"

"Don't you think I know that?! I ain't defending myself like the rest of these pathetic excuses for creatures. I know that I'm a bad fucken person, but guess what? Sometimes ya don't have a choice!"

Gajeel returned the favor, and grabbed the collar of Natsu's vest, slamming him against the opposing wall.

Natsu's brain went into selective hearing mode. He couldn't believe that his relative, firstly, was a part of a sadistic murderous guild, but also tortured someone he considered one of the most important parts of his life.

Natsu's hand was resting on the stake behind his back, and judging by Gajeel's weary expression, he knew. "You didn't have to join this cult of a guild. Why didn't ya just go back to your deadbeat dad and live a happy fucking life?"

Natsu remembered the day his dad sat both him and Wendy down to tell him about Gajeel's new 'condition'. He had been overpowered by a flock of sadistic vampires, turned and left for dead - or undead. Natsu didn't remember Gajeel's father's exact reaction, but he knew he hadn't been disowned. There was absolutely no reason for Gajeel to leave home to join a guild.

That seemed to tick something off in Gajeel as he let go of Natsu's collar that instant. "My dad died when your parents did." Natsu immediately wanted to argue that his parents weren't dead - just missing. "Then Phantom Lord took me in, and yes it was heartwarming in the start, but as ya can see, shit changes. And while I was forced to break all ethical rules, you were having fun playing adventurer with the Fairies."

That hit Natsu like a boulder, almost knocking the air out of him. It was true that both him and Wendy had lost all contact with Gajeel after their parents'… death. He just hadn't imagined that Gajeel led this kind of lifestyle.

"I know I hurt blondie beyond forgiveness, but I've kept her alive. I made sure she didn't become another damn toy to Jose," Gajeel finished, crossing his arms.

"If you are such a Godsend hero, why the hell are ya still against us?" Natsu demanded with a growl, feeling the fur on his back intensify. "Why are ya _still_ hurting _her_?"

Gajeel didn't even have to think as he replied, "The same reason as everyone else in this damn place is. Jose has the exact location of everyone we even remotely care about. Ya know, I can't refuse to fight unless I want Wendy, that damn, crazy water lady-" _Juvia_ , Natsu guessed. "-and even yer sorry ass dead."

"Aw, you care about me," Natsu bitterly said, his hands coming into fists.

For a moment, the two of them just stared angrily at each other, neither of them uttering a word. The three vampires on the ground were all out cold from Natsu's brutality.

Gajeel was first to break the silence, and he did so with a sigh. "Go get ya girl. I'll make sure these three ain't gonna talk."

Natsu raised an eyebrow. "My girl?!"

Gajeel shook his head with another sigh. "Just _go._ Follow the scent of blood and burned flesh."

Natsu growled at that comment but didn't disobey. He'd have plenty of time to beat up the older vampire, which filled him with determination because he was a forgiving person, but not when it came to people hurting his family.

"And 'ey, Salamander?"

Nats stopped and turned towards his cousin. "What?"

"She's in a pretty rough shape," Gajeel explained, squatting down beside the shaking, injured vampire on the ground. "Take care of her, okay?"

"You don't have to tell me that shit," Natsu growled, turning around. Her scent - and her blood - immediately caught his attention. "Not after all this."

Before he left, he could hear Gajeel mutter 'I know', and it even sounded apologetic, but Natsu really didn't care at that moment. He had to go find her.

* * *

Sue loaded another gun with a round of silver bullets. There were three werewolves in the entirety of Fairy Tail, and Sue had a hard time understanding why Jose demanded everyone to be armed like this.

Behind her, the door shot open, and she didn't even have to look around to see Jose walking hastily into the room. By the sound of it, he seemed distressed.

"That damn Salamander," he hissed, slamming his fists into the wall over the drawer. Sue was used to his rash behavior, so she didn't even flinch.

"Salamander?"

Jose nodded, pulling out the entire drawer, spilling the contents on the floor. "The pink-haired werewolf, who's ruining everything!"

As he found the stuff he was looking for, he quickly stuffed it into a leather bag. It seemed as he was packing, judging by the items he was packing were clothes, items with a high value, and small, essential weapons

"Sir, I'm not sure I und-"

"Not only has that _brat_ taken out a good _third_ of our members, but he's also on his way to 'rescue' that blonde bitch," before he left the room, he made a sharp noise of disgust. "The two tasks we had tasks we had for today! Dishonoring Fairy Tail, and retrieving Lucy Heartfilia - about to be crushed!"

Sue put down the golden gun, placing the silver bullets neatly beside it. "Are you going anywhere?"

"I'm finding that witch- what's her name? Elena, right-" he pulled at his hair in stress. "So I'm getting the witch, bringing Heartfilia, and that way, Fairy Tail will have lost a member, deeming them dishonored, while we still accomplished our one goal - retrieving the girl."

"B-but master! What about the guild?" Sue half-heartedly exclaimed. In all honesty, that plan would make everyone free - even if it meant putting Lucy Heartfilia in a world of pain.

Jose thought for a second before giving her a devilish smirk. "Congratulations, Sue, you're the fourth guild master. The brats listen to you now."

"W-what?! MASTER, I CAN'T I-" but before she could finish the sentence, Jose cut her off.

"Sure you can. Now, make sure every fighter in this damn building has a gun, and make sure that everyone is aiming for that damn werewolf."

And with that, he was gone.

* * *

It was at times like these that Lucy wished she had invested in a hand watch. It wasn't really that useful since her hand was cuffed behind the chair, but nonetheless, it was useful for not going insane. Together with the white-hot pain, still soaring through her body, and the anxiety of the safety of her guildmates, time got mixed up. How long had she been tied to this chair? Seconds? Hours? Days? There was no clock, no indication of time. The curtain had been pulled over the window once again, so she couldn't even tell where the sun was.

It sucked, and not in the 'Aw man, this sucks!' kind of way, but in a, 'I'd rather die than be in this room for another second,' kind of way. Everything hurt. Nothing was getting better, and if her body wasn't as drained as it was, she would be sobbing right now. Perhaps she had already cried all of her tears?

The numbing pain was getting to the point where her ears began to ring – loudly enough to drown out her own whimpers. The only indication of sound was the feeling of her lips moving. Was she screaming, or just silently suffering?

As the ringing grew louder, her parents' faces popped into her head. She longed for their gentle, comforting touches. The memories they had together, the laughs they shared, and the tears they had shed together. She longed to be pain-free, and she longed for love.

"-cy!"

The ringing was too loud.

"LU-"

Why was she even trying anymore?

"-hear me?"

She really wanted to go home. Home to the mansion.

"Luce, look at me."

Luce? That was Natsu's nickname for her. Natsu…

In a pathetic attempt at looking up, she did a small bop with her head, indicating that she – unfortunately – still was undead. A sigh of relief crossed her ears, and by the tone of it, it was Natsu. He was here…

"Bastards," she heard him growl, crouching down in front of her. His presence alone made her feel just a tad bit better.

Checking for injuries, Lucy took a small whiff, but any possible trace of blood was blurred out by the heavy scent of garlic that was somehow infused into the air of the room. A cough escaped her lips, the garlic burning the back of her throat. If she had had anything in her stomach, she would have vomited – again – by now.

"Fuck, shit, _crap_ ," Natsu cursed, running his hand over the fresh wounds on her shoulders, running down her arms. Pain soared through her body, and she couldn't help but whimper from his touch. As soon as her whine reached his ears, he quickly pulled his hands back, apologizing through a hiss.

"Hurts…" she breathed, gently tucking at the iron cuffs around her wrists behind the chair. Through the sunburns, she hadn't even noticed that something was burning around her wrist, but it was as if her body knew what it was. For some reason – a reason she'd never know – her body told her that there was garlic infused with the cuffs, and she needed to get that shit off _asap_.

Cracking open her one eye, she was met by Natsu's worried, yet enraged face. Before shutting her eyes once again, she saw him hastily making his way around the chair.

One gentle yank from Natsu and the cuffs fell to the ground. Lucy felt kind of pathetic about not being able to do that so easily, but in this situation, she had an excuse. Her arms dropped limply to her side, and she let out a hiss as burns slid against the dry wooden chair.

Suddenly Natsu let out a roar, punching the wall behind Lucy's chair. By the sound of crumbling concrete, it was safe to assume that he punched a dent – if not a whole hole – through it.

"Natsu, please," she pleaded, followed by a fatigued sigh. "Can't walk…"

Not even a second later, Natsu had placed himself in front of her. She could hear his heartbeat, and despite the fact that it was beating fast, she was happy it was beating.

"Luce, look at me," Natsu begged, placing his warm hand on her cold cheek. His thumb brushed over her dried out tear stains, gentle not to hurt burned flesh. Had she been burned in the face? She couldn't remember. The pain from the burns mixed with the places that hadn't been affected. Her body was one big feeling of agony.

But Lucy didn't understand. Wasn't she looking up? Opening her eyes, she realized her head was hanging low, her vision blurry. For some reason, she couldn't tell if she was crying or not – all of her senses were dull. Nothing felt real, but it was okay. At least the pain had dimmed a bit. Not enough to feel good, but enough to not want to die.

"'M looking," she looked up at him, her one eye drooping. All she wanted was to sleep, but she knew that it wasn't an appropriate time.

As Natsu confirmed she was conscious enough to pick up, he slid his arm under her knees, and snaked the other around her shoulders, picking her up and pulling her close. Lucy's shaky hand went to grab the opening of his vest, clenching it in support. She needed something to steady herself, so gripping fabric as if her life depended on it was what she ended up doing.

As they began moving, Lucy noticed Natsu being quiet. Perhaps it was so they wouldn't get caught, but for some reason her hypersensitivity acted up, screaming, 'there's something wrong with him!'

Luckily, as he carried her outside the cell, he answered her silent question. "I should'a been there to protect you," he growled, tightening his grip around her knees.

Lucy shook her head lazily, mumbling out reassurances that probably did nothing to calm him. He was blinded by rage, she could see, but she didn't understand why. She hadn't been a part of the guild for long and for some reason, a voice in her head told her that his reaction would have been less feral towards another person in her situation.

But then she remembered where she was. In the middle of Phantom Lord.

"Jose…" she breathed, feeling his grip tightening around her. She felt safe in his arms, and couldn't help but place her hand over his heart. He was still alive, and he was here with her.

Natsu nodded. "I know, Luce, I know. We'll get you out of here."

No, he didn't understand. That wasn't what she was indicating.

Slowly, she shook her head. "Mhm-hm. H-he needs to di-die."

Natsu tensed up but didn't question her or her intentions.

Midst of her hazy murderous thoughts, she felt her throat flare up. Flames engulfed the flesh of her inner throat as she breathed in, shocked to find herself craving the werewolf's blood. The scent of dog had immediately replaced the much more disgusting scent of garlic – which she had been kind of shocked to find out wasn't a myth.

"Natsu," Lucy breathed, her tone desperate as she tugged at his vest. She could smell his blood, not only from his veins, but dripping from the various battle wounds. Her eyes tightened, and she felt the familiar burn in her gums from her fangs - a sensation that was growing quite satisfying to her. "I'm… _starving_."

Natsu tensed up after that sentence, and Lucy had a hard time telling whether it was from worry or fear. With her intentions not so pleasant, she could understand his worry, but her hunger wasn't just from wanting to murder the man who ruined her life. She was still soaked in her own blood, her wounds stinging against Natsu's gentle touch.

"Are you sure that's a good idea, Luce?" Natsu murmured, his breath fanning her damp forehead. Cold sweat was covering her body, and she hadn't even noticed the fact that her body had begun shaking furiously.

Her eyes shot closed, trying to shake out the pain, she nodded frantically. She didn't need a lot, just enough to be able to walk - and get to Jose before that bastard escaped.

"I'm s-so fuck-ing hungry," she whimpered, biting down on her lip, breaking the skin with her sharp fangs. At that moment, she didn't even feel a tinge of guilt or embarrassment from literally begging for blood. Her body ached and burned, and she was sure she'd pass out again from the pain. She could always bury herself in self-loathing later. "Please…"

After a few seconds of silence, Natsu nodded his head stiffly. He wasn't a bad person - actually, he was a rather good one - but even he knew when someone had violent tendencies on their mind. Lucy had that, and rightfully so.

Lucy clutched his vest, gritting her teeth as they moved. Her open wounds were rubbing against his arms, sending jolts of pain through her body, but she knew he didn't do it on purpose. A yelp left her mouth as she felt them come to a stop.

Pushing himself against a wall, he slowly slid down to sit, keeping Lucy's trembling body close in his arms. As he was sitting down completely, Lucy sighed as she leaned against his knee, his one arm still around her shoulders. Her hand snaked up his arm, ending at his cheek as she brushed her thumb over a small cut. Withdrawing her hand, she licked the small bead of blood off of her thumb, feeling the flaring pain in her throat intensify.

"Remember, Luce," Natsu started, removing his scarf and settling it beside him. He angled his neck, getting ready to be bitten. "Revenge might not be what ya need right now."

Lucy nodded, taking in his words as he pushed herself into a sitting position, still leaning against his knee for support. Of course Natsu knew he couldn't stop her. He wasn't going to try because he would have done the same. This man - this bastard - had ruined her life, and there was nothing she could do about it. He was the one who understood her the best in this large, cruel world - or of the people, she knew at least. After all, she had never been one with many friends.

"Ready?" she asked, her voice raspy and dry. Despite her agonizing hunger, she wanted to make sure that he wasn't too drained himself. She'd make it up to him, she decided. She just didn't know how yet.

As he nodded, Lucy gulped. Remaining in control was going to be an issue, but as she encircled his neck with one of her raw arms, and took in a whiff of his scent, she knew she could do it.

Sinking her teeth into the soft skin of his neck, she drank as if she had been starved for weeks. Her body almost sang in euphoria, for once not caring that she was drinking werewolf blood. As usual, her taste buds were burning, but that didn't stop her from satisfying her hunger.

The mending of her pain was instant. Every wound on her back, arms, and neck each gave off a cooling feeling as she swallowed a mouthful of blood. It wasn't enough to heal her wounds or stop the throbbing pain, but just enough to stop the bleeding and give her a boost of energy.

After three big gulps of blood, she reluctantly pulled back, her body screaming for more, but she knew it wasn't the time. Licking her lips for the remains, she gazed up at Natsu who looked worriedly at her.

"You done already?" he asked skeptically, cocking his head to the side, signaling that she could have more.

She shook her head no. "Not now," she rasped, biting open her wrist to heal him. Without warning him, she pushed her wrist against his lips, forcing him to drink the metallic substance. Not only would it heal his bite mark, but perhaps give him a little extra energy for the end of the fight.

Pulling away her wrist, she licked the remaining blood away from the wound, watching as it healed. Looking up at Natsu, she gave him an unapologetic smile as she saw his frown.

Just as he was about to scold her for overworking herself, a voice sounded in the end of the hallway. Natsu snapped his head up to see a vampiric duo opening the wooden door.

"I found them!" one of the called out.

Immediately Natsu got his feet, pulling Lucy with him as he stood up. As he felt her squirm in his grip, like a child wanting to stand by herself, he let her down. Carefully, still, he encircled her burned upper arm with his hand, ready to catch her if she should fall.

Natsu growled at the sight of the vampires running towards them and was too distracted to feel Lucy moving out of his grip.

"Lucy, we need to get the hell-" as he looked up once again, he realized she was gone. As the approaching vampires got closer, he took a quick look around - just in case the blonde was somewhere to be found. She wasn't, as he had expected. She had gone to find Jose.

"Ya better stay safe, Luce," he muttered as he got into his fighting stance. As he reached around his back, ready to grab the stake he had made, he silently cursed as he was met with nothing but the hem of his pants.

The stake, he had so neatly made, had disappeared with Lucy. She was on a killing spree.

As Natsu charged towards the vampires, the only thing he had in mind was to defeat those fuckers so he could get to Lucy – not the weird looking gun they both carried.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, I hope you all enjoyed that!
> 
> Please let me know what you thought - it's what keeps me writing c:
> 
> Until next time
> 
> /Sofie


	13. Silver and Stakes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, everyone!
> 
> Hope everyone is doing great, and are ready for this week's chapter!
> 
> Special thanks to my amazing and beloved friend, Courtney (brokenangelwings83) and my ultimate and beloved bro, Hali (proudtobeaginger) for betaing this chapter! thank you so much pals!
> 
> And also a shoutout to my usual editor, Animenerdd8, for being a lovely editor. I gave her a break this week ehehe, but I love you hun!
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy this week's chapter!

* * *

Lucy didn't remember how long she walked upstairs, she just knew that her legs were literally _killing her_. Perhaps it was the fatigue speaking, but despite just feeding, she was in the same amount of pain as before. But it didn't matter since all she wanted to see was blood - Jose's blood to be precise.

Tightening the grip around the (stolen) stake, she found herself smirking at the thought of Jose's blood on her hands. He had had her blood on his hands for far too long, but now it was her turn. Because today, she was one hundred percent sure Jose would be killed. And she was going to make sure of that.

Reaching the end of the long, twisted staircase she had been walking on, she reached a wooden door with a golden ring as a doorknob. And low and behold, the scent of none other than Jose was behind it.

Lucy smirked. She loved how he most likely knew she was there - her breathing heavy, her scent strong from blood, and her steps echoing the whole stairway. He was expecting her, but he wasn't expecting her to kill him. Because she was just a fragile, little crybaby, right? She couldn't hurt a fly even if she tried, right? Lucy inwardly laughed at the mocking words Jose probably thought about her.

Without hesitation, Lucy kicked the door open, making one of the hinges fly off. For once in her life, she didn't care if she ruined something. She just wanted to see blood.

As the door flew open, hitting the wall holding it in place, she hastily stepped inside, gripping the stake tighter. She was met by an office-like room, a desk filled with old looking books right in front of her, and a king-sized bed by the side. On each side of the bed there was a window, and judging by the hue of them, it was UV-windows - the same as she had. The cold, gray stone walls were decorated with old tapestries and torches, while on the hardwood floor, the skin of a bear was placed, which made Lucy feel her stomach churn.

For some reason, however, Jose wasn't there even though his scent was dirtying the air.

Suddenly, behind her, the half-broken door slammed shut, leaving a reverberation of the loud sound. Turning around, she was met by Jose wearing a large fur cape, a leather bag hiding under the material. He was more prepared than she was.

"Hello there, _sweetheart_ ," he spat, his black lips twitching in a mixture of annoyance and stress. "What a pleasant surprise."

Lucy rolled her aching shoulders, earning a few cracks from her joints. "We are ending this now, Jose," she stated, playing around with the stake in her hands. Surprisingly, she wasn't shaking, only fuming with adrenaline. "One of us will _not_ leave this place alive, and I can spoil for you that it won't be me."

Jose threw his head back in a barking laughter, roaring as he held his stomach. "Very interesting, I will admit. Then show me what you got."

* * *

Natsu felt the stone walls crumble against his weight as he was thrown against the said wall for the twentieth time.

Screw Gajeel. Screw his cousin for breaking him out of his savaged state, losing his concentration. One of the vampires he was fighting - three in total as of now - rushed at Natsu. Said werewolf was quick to duck right as the vampire was about to reach him with a small, yet sharp dagger.

Natsu, armed only with his trustworthy fists and werewolf strength, growled as he grabbed the wrist of the vampire who just attacked him, and twisted it in a painful angle until the dagger fell to the floor, and the wrist snapped. As the blade clashed against the floor, a shriek that sent pain Natsu's ears escaped the vampire's lips as Natsu pushed him to the ground, and kicked him across the hallway.

As that happened, the two vampires were eager to avenge their now injured friend, and attacked Natsu from both sides, getting in some good hits, which Natsu took with gritted teeth.

"Oh, man," Natsu grunted, a breathy laugh escaping his lips. "I think I mighta broken a nail."

One of them, a buff male vampire, huffed at the mockery and said, "You'll wish it was just a simple manicure we messed up."

As he finished that sentence, he had already raised his fist as Natsu recovered, but Natsu was quick to sidestep to the right just enough that the white-knuckled fist passed a hair's breath from his face, smashing into the already broken wall.

With a smirk, Natsu raised both arms in front of him, and double punched said vampire's chest. Air whooshed from his lungs as he was pushed several feet away, roughly hitting the opposite wall. The impact of the attack gave Natsu a couple feet between them - enough to start focusing on the next vampire.

A slow, self-satisfied smirk stretched across Natsu's lips; this was easy.

Natsu quickly dropped to his feet, balancing on his hands as he tackled the vampire with a swift almost ground-touching kick. The vampire fell to the ground with a yelp, hitting his head hard against the stone floor.

As Natsu stood up straight and stepped over the vampire, he felt his feral nature return to him. He towered over the lying vampire, who was struggling to get up.

Suddenly, a noise from the side distracted him, and Natsu looked over at the vampire he thought he had disabled.

"Sue gave the signal!" the buff vampire, who had previously been knocked out, screamed out at his comrade.

Quickly, Natsu looked down at the vampire he was hovering over and was met by a golden gun pointed directly at him.

A gunshot was heard, a ringing in Natsu's ears appeared, and suddenly he felt the skin of his chest getting pierced through.

In the next moments, Natsu found himself in a world of pain.

The pain was unbearable. In fact, he would rather transform every day for a month than experience this agony. Different from a transformation, where 'all' he had to do was let all his bones get broken, this was true pain. It was as if this bullet - this silver monster - was slowly but surely replace everything inside of him with burning, seething acid, starting with all of his veins. His blood was boiling, and not metaphorically, but physically his blood was trying to kill him.

The spot the bullet hit him, his chest, was trying it's hardest to push the bullet out as it knew that this was something that did not belong in Natsu Dragneel's chest. But it was no use because the bullet was taking over his body - not only making him bleed profusely but taking over his every nerve. He didn't know anything else than pain at that moment, and he couldn't remember if he had given up on holding back his screams because he could only feel pain.

"Oh, man, when Jose hears about what I did, he'll definitely make me master instead of Lil' Sue!" one of them said with pride in his voice.

"You? I was the one who gave the orders!" another argued.

Their bickering went on, and Natsu's choked whimpers turned to labored breaths as he felt the world around him disappear - the unbearable pain going with it.

There was one word on Natsu's mind before everything went dark.

_Why?_

* * *

"MOVE!" Gray shouted, grabbing the flesh of Juvia's thigh tighter. The creatures in front of the infirmary door quickly jumped to the side, allowing the Izling to carry the mermaid inside the room. As he entered, Wendy, who stood by Erza's unconscious side, gasped at the state of Juvia.

The mermaid had her eyes shut in pain, and her one hand draped over a relatively large wound on her stomach.

During the battle, Juvia had been caught off guard and sliced with a dagger by one of the vampires, and slashed across the stomach. The wound wasn't lethal if treated correctly, but she was bleeding profusely.

"I need water!" Gray shouted as Wendy and some other creatures cleared a bed for Juvia. As she was placed on the mattress, she quickly curled up into a ball, whimpering as she tried to suppress the pain.

Frantic creatures ran back and forth, soaking blankets and pillows in water for the mermaid to have. Juvia was the kind of mermaid didn't need to be in water all the time, but water was _crucial_ in the healing process.

"Wendy," Juvia rasped through clenched teeth. The younger fairy looked down at Juvia, placing her small hand on her arm. "D-don't waste your magic on Juvia. Water… it'll do it."

"J-Juvia, I'm fine!" Wendy tried to assure the mermaid, but Juvia wasn't having it.

"Just… stitch Juvia up, please?"

Gray watched closely as Wendy thought it over. He was torn, himself. He was worried about Juvia - more than he'd like to admit - and he knew that Wendy would make her healing process so much easier, but when Lucy came back, she'd need it so much more.

"Gray! I need you to distract her while I fix her up, please," Wendy pleaded, not looking happy to do it. It was clear to see that the young fairy was _exhausted_. By the number of people coming in, there was only so much Wendy could do with her magic.

Gray nodded at that request, and quickly pulled a chair up to Juvia's side, enveloping Juvia's hand with his own. Despite the circumstances, a faint blush appeared on Juvia's cheeks, and Gray had to fight back the urge to snort at that.

"Gray, my dear," Juvia started, her eyes shut. "Juvia is embarrassed that h-her Gray has to see her l-like this."

Gray shook his head, not really knowing what to do with the love-sick mermaid. "Ah, eh, don't think about it. We're family, we have to help each other."

Juvia only nodded, laying her head back as Wendy rolled her chair closer to the bed, getting ready to start. Under her breath, however, Juvia muttered something about wanting a family with Gray.

This time, Gray snorted, "I know you do."

He didn't deny the thought though.

Wendy began trying to stop the bleeding and stitching up Juvia, and soon the mermaid was sleeping soundly, her stomach covering in bandages, and her body swept in a thin, wet blanket - her aquatic body taking in the moisture.

Gray leaned back against the wall of the infirmary, a shaky sigh escaping his lips. He didn't want to show it physically, but he was worried about the whole situation. It wasn't looking good. The infirmary was being filled faster than they had beds, and there was still a fight going on.

There was no sign of Natsu, and he didn't even know if Lucy was okay.

And he was worried about her, a lot. He had just decided that he needed to apologize to her, and now he didn't even know if he would ever get to do that.

Of course, he trusted Natsu with his life - not that he would ever admit that of course - but Phantom Lord was strong. Stronger than he had expected. No one had expected this. They had moved their entire guild for one, stupid fight, for crying out loud!

Getting snapped out of his thoughts, he felt a tug on the sleeve of his jacket - which he surprisingly still wore. Looking to his side, he saw a worried Romeo.

"Is anyone else hurt?" Gray spoke apprehensively, but he quickly relaxed when Romeo shook his head.

"Can… can we talk outside of here, real quick?" Romeo asked, not meeting the eyes of the Izling. He looked visibly nervous, so Gray knew it was important.

Walking out the infirmary door, Gray nodded for him to follow him.

Outside the infirmary, away from the crowd of helping and injured creatures, Gray resumed his leaning position, his arms crossed.

"Are you okay, kid?"

Romeo leaned his back against the wall and shrugged. "I don't know… I have this weird feeling."

Gray raised a brow. "What kind of feeling?"

Biting his lip, still not meeting the elder creature's eyes, Romeo murmured, "I… I think it's a wolf thing. I just- I can feel that something is wrong. It's like, now that we're so few werewolves here, our bodies think that we're a pack…"

"What are you getting at?"

Romeo's hands clenched and unclenched a few times as he kept chewing on his lip. The younger creature's nervousness quickly rubbed off on Gray, and he felt himself growing impatient and worried about what Romeo was about to say.

"I think," he took a deep breath. "That Natsu is hurt. As in, really, really hurt." Gray's eyes widened at that. Natsu was strong as fuck, but he wasn't invincible. This was bad.

"I can feel it! It's like a pack instinct, I think," Romeo explained his eyes filling with tears. "It's like a signal to tell us that one of ours is in danger. The others are too busy, but I need to get in there. We need to help him."

Gray thought over that for a second. Sure, he had a bad feeling about this as well, but Romeo seemed to be genuinely concerned, and Gray knew for a fact that werewolves could sense each other. They just couldn't risk losing a guild member.

"If I get us in there, which I'm not sure I can, by the way, would you be able to sense that bastard?" Gray asked, his hand reassuringly placed on the werewolf's shoulder.

Romeo nodded eagerly, a small smile of hope edging on his lips.

Gray returned the smile. "Keep close to me, and if anyone tries to attack you, you have to yell for me, understand?"

Romeo nodded again, standing up straight. Gray sighed as he looked out of the guild doors at the bloodbath going on. Luckily, no one has died - though some seemed to have come close - and Natsu, nor Lucy, we're _not_ going to be the firsts ones to.

* * *

Lucy dodged yet another punch, holding back a whimper as the sudden movement stretched her wounds. She was probably bleeding everywhere, but she didn't care, for the pain was drowned out by the victory of getting a punch in every once in a while. Sure, her fists her shaking and she was nowhere near as strong as Jose was, but she was trying. She really was.

Getting caught off guard, Lucy found Jose's hands on her raw shoulders before lifting her off the ground and throwing her across the room. With a loud cry, Lucy hit the wall beside the window. Falling to the ground and landing on her front, she felt the pain from the impact soar through her wounds. She felt her vision grow blurry. Was it tears or was she passing out?

"Oh, sweet, innocent Lucy Heartfilia," Jose chuckled. Still having her head low, all she heard was Jose's calm footsteps walk towards, slow as he knew she was too fatigued to run. Injured and unable to see clearly was probably one of the worst things to be before going into a battle.

Managing to balance herself on her elbows, Lucy pushed herself into a sitting position, looking around to find something - _anything!_ \- to steady herself with.

Placing her hands on the ground, she tried pushing herself up, but just as she was in an almost upright position, she felt a strong kick to her stomach, sending her flying towards the wall under the window. As all the air was knocked out of her, she cried out, clutching her stomach.

To make it all worse, she was so close to the window that she could hear the battle going on outside. She heard the screams and battle cries of her guildmates, battling Jose's sadistic army. She choked back a cry of frustration, not being able to help them in any way.

She could smell their blood, but her hunger wasn't empowering her - it was disabling her. She was too weak to win this fight, and not only because of her physical state but also in general. Since joining Fairy Tail, she realized that her inexperience was what would drag the guild down. Like she was right now.

_Shut up_ , Lucy seethed to her self-deprecating mind. She knew that it was her newborn brain - mostly - that was talking, and she really couldn't afford that mindset. Not right now, at least.

"You got nothing to say, Heartfilia?" Jose taunted, a smirk on his lips. He kicked her again, and she tasted blood in her mouth, coughing out the air that had been forced out of her. "Don't you get it? This is deserved. Your family owed me!"

_"Lucy, get back!" Her mother screamed, running towards the man, stake in her hand. A dull one. "Jose… we have given you everything. We owe you nothing!"_

"Your family owed me money for staying away from the railroads," Jose explained, cracking his knuckles - mostly to intimidate her. Lucy felt her cheeks wet with tears. It hurt, and it never stopped hurting. "The price for not feeding off of people by the trains… I chose my prize, and it's _you_!" He kicked her further into the small corner of the room. Lucy screamed through gritted teeth, her throat raw from both hunger and the immense shouting she had gone through today.

_Not being fast enough, from being just a mere human, Layla had been the last one to die._

"Oh, you really are a spitting image of your mother, ain't ya?" He continued, only fueling the fire building up inside of Lucy. The tears she was shedding wasn't from pain anymore but from anger. "Ah, yes, I remember her screams."

_Jose threw her mother's corpse to the side, wiping his bloody mouth._

"You sound just like her."

Blocking Jose's next kick with her arm, not even flinching upon contact, Lucy growled, glaring at the man who killed her mother so mercilessly.

"Don't…" Lucy panted, pushing his strong arm away. Swiftly pushing herself to her feet, using one of the wooden pillars from Jose's bed to balance herself with, she continued, " _Ever!_ " With an iron grip, she grabbed the stake still sitting in the rim of her shorts. "Talk about my mother _again_!"

Letting out a roar - one she didn't know her body could physically make - she leaped off the ground towards aiming the stake towards Jose's chest. Jose predicted this, making sure he turned his only weak spot away. However, as she charged towards him, she managed to break not only the fabric of his shirt but also leaving a sharp cut above his heart. Upon impact, Jose stumbled a few steps back, grasping the cut with a gasp.

Lucy, fueled by anger, landed on her feet with no problems, turning her hateful gaze towards Jose once again. Her knuckles were white around the stake now covered in a small amount of Jose's blood.

Unexpectedly, Jose let out a sinister laugh, using the palm of his hand to dry off the blood on his chest. "Oh, so now she's angry. All I had to do was talk about your weak, dead mother."

She suddenly didn't recognize herself through her anger, but she didn't care. If this was what going feral meant, she loved it. Watching the man who killed her entire family being so clueless about his upcoming death.

No warning on her face whatsoever, Lucy lowered herself just slightly, placing her hand on the ground and pushed herself forward. She screamed out as she dodged his well-placed attack, and used her sharp nails to leave a red, bloody trail across his face. Though he seemed unfazed by it, Lucy smiled as she landed on her feet again as his eyes twitched from the pain.

"You're just making it worse for-" but before he finished that sentence, Lucy had raised her leg and kicked him in the face. Jose naturally stumbled backward, looking shocked at the angry, panting vampire in front of him.

Back and forth. Right leg, left leg. Throwing him back a few steps with each kick and making him slowly look more and more beaten. Lucy jumped forwards, jacking her elbow into his wound she so neatly made.

In any attempt at fighting back from Jose's side, Lucy merely ducked and dodged while she was furiously hitting and kicking him with the last of her strength.

Simultaneously Jose was trying his hardest to keep up, but he forgot one fateful thing - newborn vampires are strong as fuck when they first go savage.

_"The life of a vampire starts in the newborn phase. It's the first three months after being turned. Their strengths are incomparable to any creature, almost as great as their older vampires. Their hunger is out of control, meaning that they are more likely to go savage."_

And oh, Lucy had gone savage. The mention of her dead mother - the woman who brought her up, and whose corpse Lucy herself fed from - had ignited that power inside of her. This - her painful existence - was all Jose's fault, and now he was paying for it.

With one final kick to the chest, Jose was sent flying backward, landing on his back with a yelp.

Quickly, Lucy used her vampiric speed and found herself sitting on top of the man who ruined her life. She placed her strong knees firmly on top of his arms, pressing down as hard as she could to keep him at bay.

With a wicked smile, her mind clouded by both her injuries but also her anger. And her anger was fuming as she tauntingly hovered the stake above the man's chest.

"PLEASE!" he cried out, using all his powers to try to push him away, he let out a pathetic yelp as Lucy just pushed down harder.

With the stake hovering over his chest, Lucy all but snorted. "Give me one good reason _why_ I should let you live? Just one, you _filth_!"

He roared under her strength, thrashing as he was searching for a reason.

Lowering the stake, she tauntingly dragged it across his chest, living for the way his breaths intensified in fear. She cocked her head in a condescending way, silently repeating 'Just one reason'.

It didn't seem as if he could find one. That was until he widened his eyes, and blurted out, "They are alive! The lion and the ram! Even their godforsaken baby! THEY'RE ALIVE!"

That, Lucy was shocked by. She loosened the grip around the stake, yet she still kept him locked to the ground, not daring to let him go.

"Where?" she asked, no playing around in her voice.

"I-I don't know! His heart was s-still beating when I left him. I figured he would just die, but his heart was returning to normal as we left the mansion. I'm telling the truth!" His voice was desperate, however, there was no indication of a lie. Just pure desperation.

"Aries and the baby? How do you know about them?"

"I have my contacts," he tried, nodding furiously, begging her to believe him. "Th-they weren't there when we raided the mansion."

Lucy felt relief flood her veins. Not only was Loke alive, a little hurt but alive, but Aries hadn't even been hurt. She wasn't there. She was off that day. They were safe.

She had lost everything but a small part of her own life was left. It was still there, and she was _so happy._

"So please! Have mercy!" he yelled out, snapping her back to reality as he tried once again to fight against her strength, but she was too strong. She had always been - she just needed the right circumstances.

"I don't think so, _sweetheart_ ," Lucy mocked, a small smile on her lips as she raised the stake again. "You didn't give my mother mercy when you killed her. You didn't give me mercy when I was begging for you to stop. Who have you ever given mercy?"

Blood splattered everywhere as Lucy dove the stake through his heart, an agonizing scream leaving Jose's lips as he died once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh, some Lucy badassness, some light Gruvia(?) and Natsu's like doing his own thing with a bullet in his chest lol.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter! We're almost done with this arc and will quickly move away and onto new things. I hope you're as excited as I am.
> 
> Don't forget to tell me what you thought! What did you like, and what didn't you like? Did it live up to your expectations?
> 
> Until next time
> 
> /Sofie


	14. The Art of Crying in Choirs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my loves!
> 
> So... it's a been a minute, hasn't it?
> 
> Lemme explain. So, if you've read some of my other one shots, you might know that I have a feeeewwww mental problems (like depression and anxiety and some other personal stuff) and it's usually under control with medication, but it has been acting up so much these past weeks as well as some stress and school busyness. So I've been laying in bed a lot. I've just felt really shitty, but I'm getting better again, and I just needed this break to really just recharge and do nothing. I feel guilty every time I do that, but I needed.
> 
> This chapter is also really short compared to other chapters for a few reasons. 1. It's all I could manage right now. The next one will be longer, I promise! 2. It's a little wrap-up from the Phantom Lord arc as we move onto the next one. 3. I couldn't cram anything more into it, so why force it?
> 
> Also, I might have to change my uploading schedule to once every 1.5 week-2 weeks. I'm stressing a lot lately, so I don't want to rush chapters. I hope you guys are okay with that!
> 
> Anyways, that was a big ramble ahahah.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this week's chapter!

Again, she was crying. How many tears did she have? How long could she keep crying? It seemed as if that was the only thing she could do these days, and she never knew _why_. Was it anger or sadness? Those things seemed to blur together in one big sea of despair.

Right now, Lucy had a lot of reasons to cry - most of them something a non-newborn wouldn't cry about. She was in so much pain that the room began to spin every time she looked around. The realization of how this whole ideal was her fault was also a big factor in her crying, as well as the thought of her injured friends. And lastly, she just killed someone.

She just killed the one person who had ruined her entire life - and she felt awful.

Only a few feet beside her, Jose's corpse lay still, burned beyond recognition. Quickly, Lucy had found out that if you stake a vampire, their body will go up in flames, making sure that there is no saving for them. One small piece of wood to the heart meant utter destruction for a vampire. Lucy didn't know what to do with that information.

She did know, however, that her brain was not letting her have the satisfaction of ending a chapter of her life. No, all she got was guilt and regret that she so unhappily tried to push back.

_You know, you really_ _**are** _ _a monster._

Lucy's tears just intensified. Sniffling, she pulled her knees to her chest, letting out a choked sob.

"Lucy!" she heard someone call, not even bothering to look up to see her savior. Her hands were fisting through her hair, trying to stop the echoing thoughts from swirling in her head.

She felt two cold hands land on her shoulders, shaking her lightly to try to catch her attention.

"Lucy…" the voice tried again, but Lucy had shot her eyes closed and held her breath. She heard the person curse under their breath, lightly hovering their hand over her wounds. "Fuck… those bastards."

Daring to open one eye, Lucy looked up to see none other than Gray Fullbuster.

"G-Gray?"

The Izling nodded, retracting his hands, seeing as Lucy was snapping herself out of the hysteria. However, the calmness from the surprise was short lived.

"You were right," Lucy cried out, gripping her hair in frustration. Gray was watching her as that happened, not knowing how to react to her outburst. "I-I'm a monster. All I do is k-kill, and there's nothing I can do to stop it!"

Gray looked at the burning, corpse wincing in disgust.

_Good_. She thought. Now he could see how big of a monster she was.

"That's not true," Gray tried, kneeling down beside shaking blonde, careful not to touch her tender wounds. "I was wrong. I… I said those things out of anger. I'm sorry. It was wrong of me."

Lucy didn't listen. As her hands fisted into her hair, she let out a loud sob, the smell of burnt vampire flesh (both from herself but also Jose) edging into her nostrils, filling her with nausea once again.

"No, no, no, _no_!" she cried, pushing away his hands. The panic was rising in her, as the sobbing left her a heaving mess.

This all seemed like a good plan when she was actually killing Jose. He took everything from her, and he would likely do it to everyone else in his way. He was a destructor and he wasn't going to stop, so she did a good thing.

But why did the guilt plague her that badly? Why was her brain against her? She knew the newborn phase was brutal, but at this point, she couldn't tell what was her own emotions, and what was the vampiric fetus in her speaking.

Why was is so difficult to be alive? Or undead, to be precise.

She didn't know when it had happened, but through her hysteric sobbing, Gray had somehow managed to get a hold of her - not that it was that big of a challenge in her weak state - and was now carrying her in his arms, having a tight grip around her body.

Despite her eyes getting heavier and heavier, she was still squirming in his grip. She didn't notice that she was hitting his chest with a balled fist, mumbling for him to put her down, but her blows were so weak that she doubted he even noticed.

Why? Why did he decide to see her as a good person _now_ of all times? Couldn't he see that she was still a monster?

That was Lucy's last thoughts as her body gave up fighting the fatigue and slowly accepted the darkness that came with it.

* * *

Natsu was falling in and out of consciousness. The bullet in his chest was slowly but surely taking over his body. Every time his heart beat, a jolt of pain went through his veins, and every time he breathed, his lungs expanded with agony. One tiny silver bullet did that.

It was as if it was alive, slowly stealing his life-force away. He couldn't move, he couldn't speak.

"Damn, they got ya good," Natsu heard a voice speak. It took less than a second to realize that it was Gajeel. His mood deflated immediately and an urge to yell at him once again snuck up on him.

Before Gajeel could speak again, another voice joined the conversation.

"Natsu!" a high-pitched voice exclaimed, and judging from the scent, it was Romeo coming running.

Natsu didn't have the energy to reply, his body feeling both woozy and fatigued by now.

"Ya part of his pack?" Gajeel asked, moving Natsu on his back. A yelp of pain escaped his lips. It felt as if the silver bullet was melting inside his chest, spreading to each limb of his body. He could feel the desperate beats of his heart all the way to his fingertips, sending jolts of agony through his body.

"Y-yes, I'm in his pack," Romeo replied, nervously rubbing his hands up and down his jeans.

Natsu understood. Although they hadn't formally formed a pack, their bodies and wolf-minds had formed one, binding them together as a second family. Despite thinking of the whole guild as his family, a pack was something entirely different.

"Alright, I need ya to help me here," Gajeel said, his voice sounding displeased with the whole situation. "We need to get a silver bullet out of his chest."

" _Dad, look!" a nine-year-old Natsu exclaimed, holding up a handful of scrap metals. "The jewelry store just threw these out!"_

_Instead of an interested and proud look from his father, Igneel instead stood up abruptly and snatched the metal out of the young werewolf's hand._

" _Brat, what did tell ya about silver?" Igneel scolded, throwing the silver pieces into the lit fireplace._

_Natsu pouted, tears threatening to spill from his eyes. "Th-that it can kill us," he repeated, watching as the metal melted away in the fire. "But dad! Isn't it just silver bullets?"_

_Igneel sighed, sitting back in his chair. "No. It's silver daggers, silver bullets, silver_ _**pieces** _ _getting stuck in your hands… just stay away from that damn metal, aight'?"_

_Natsu's small hands came together behind his back as he lowered his head in shame. "I'm sorry, dad. I just wanted to make cool jewelry for mom."_

_A slight pang of guilt painted Igneel's face as he looked around the room, his eyes landing on a golden frame around a painting of the whole family._

_Standing up, Igneel placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "How about the two of us go down to the store and see if we can find some gold? Yer mom looks hotter in gold anyways."_

_A smile lit up on the young werewolf's face. Punching his dad's shoulder, he said, "Ew, dad! That's my mom ya talking about!"_

That memory was edged into the 'life lessons' part of Natsu's brain. 'Stay away from silver' had been one of the more serious life lessons his father had taught him, and he felt pretty pathetic for not predicting the attack.

As he dared to open one of his eyes, he was blinded by the supposed darkness. It wasn't dark for him as his eyes were trained to all kinds of brightness, but the slight flickering of the torches sent a lightning of pain through his head. _Damn bullet…_

"Okay, Salamander, this is going to hurt ya so much more than it'll hurt me," Gajeel started, motioning for Romeo to sit down beside the older werewolf. "In fact, it's not going to hurt me at all."

"Yo-you're an a-," Natsu inhaled sharply as he accidentally moved his body. "An a-asshole."

Gajeel huffed, a smirk on his lips. "Save yer breath, you'll need it."

"Fuck _you_ , Gajeel," Natsu spat. Of course, he was furious with his cousin for hurting Lucy, but the pain left him no room to even try to be nice. Every word was an extra irritation and he just wanted them all to shut up.

Ignoring the werewolf, Gajeel pointed for Romeo to sit by Natsu's head. "Hold down his arms, will ya? We can't have him squirming."

Romeo complied, fighting Natsu to lay his arms down. Natsu didn't want to move, so why the fuck did the need him to do it? Finally, however, Natsu let his arms go limp with a growl, the pain growing too great for him to handle. He felt Romeo using all his weight to hold them down, which wasn't exactly a lot, but enough to keep him grounded. For now.

"Do you know how to do it?" Romeo asked.

"Yeah. I've done a few times on myself," Gajeel nodded, opening Natsu's vest. "I haven't done it on a werewolf though, so this will be interesting."

"W-wow, thanks for telling me," Natsu slurred, feeling his body trying to stay awake. In all honesty, all he wanted was to go to sleep, but the last of his rationality told him he probably wouldn't wake up if he did so.

As Gajeel dove his fingers into the gunshot wound, Natsu's body shot upwards, an ugly scream of agony escaping his lips. It wasn't the contact with the wound that hurt - it was the bullet trying to stay in his body. It was as if it had its own life.

"FUCK STOP, STOP!" Natsu yelled, thrashing against Romeo's weight. The pain intensified by one hundred times, his veins throbbing as if they were filled with acid.

They didn't listen to his request. Gajeel had gotten a hold around the bullet, and was desperately trying to rip it out, but with no success. The harder he pulled, the more the bullet tried to bury itself into his flesh.

His vision was invaded by black dots as his roars and cries became louder. Was it melting inside of him? He couldn't tell, but it damn sure felt like it.

"It's not fucking moving," Gajeel growled, placing a hand on Natsu's bare chest to steady himself. Quickly he looked up at Romeo, his eyebrows furrowed. "Okay, kid, I need ya to hold him as still as ya possibly can, aight'? I'll use my vampiric strength now, so this'll hurt like a bitch."

Romeo nodded shakily, horrified at the amount of pain the older werewolf was in. "He's in a lot of pain, Gajeel," Romeo whispered, pressing down as hard as he could on Natsu's arms. "I can feel it. It is as his wolf is trying to make me stop it."

"I can _see_ it," Gajeel muttered sarcastically, rolling his shoulders as he prepared to rip the bullet right out of Natsu's bleeding body. Natsu was long gone, screaming and writhing under their grasps.

Again, Gajeel dove his hands into Natsu's wound, desperately grabbing the bullet and pulling as hard as he could. Natsu's agonizing screams turned into to roars, strings of curses escaped his lips.

"Kid, use all your strength _now_!"

Natsu didn't even have time to guess what was going to happen as Gajeel pressed down with his one hand, and with one more pull, Gajeel's now bloodied hand flew out of the wound, the intact, shining silver bullet clenched in his fist.

Natsu let out the loudest roar of agony as his body was trying to find the silver bullet.

And then he began cried. He didn't remember the last time he cried. Maybe it was when his parents died? He didn't know, but he knew that he had been strong for far too long. In the morning, maybe he would feel ashamed for crying in front of his number one fan and his sadistic cousin, but right now, he let the sobs leave his mouth to numb away the pain.

"Natsu…" Romeo murmured, letting go of his arms, but Natsu didn't retract them. He just lay there crying out, tears wetting his face profusely. "It's okay, Natsu. It's out now!"

The words of reassurance did nothing. Right now, his body was recovering from the intense pain, and all he could do was to cry.

He couldn't recall how long he was sobbing on the ground, finally clutching his wound with his hand, but after a while, Gajeel spoke up.

"Let 'im," Gajeel muttered, clearly uncomfortable with the whole situation as it was. Soon after, however, Natsu felt himself being lifted up, his tears never stopping, but his sobs turned into mere sniffles.

The last he heard before blacking out was Gray's voice. Why the fuck was that Izling here? His question was soon answered as he smelled the nauseating scent of Lucy's burnt flesh. She was safe… his mission was complete.

Now he let himself rest in the darkness.

* * *

Where was she?

.

.

.

"Make 'er feed," Gajeel panted, obviously out of breath.

.

.

.

Everything was black and dark and ice cold, but also white and bright and hot. Scolding, actually. Her body was fighting either accepting or denying those two sensations, not knowing which one to cling to.

.

.

.

Was she dead? This must've been what death felt like?

.

.

.

"Shh, it'll be okay," Mira cooed her hand on Lucy's cheek. Lucy didn't get it. Was she screaming? Was she crying? Why could she hear everything when she was dead?

.

.

.

"Big guy told us to make her feed," Laxus hummed, his voice distressed. "How the hell do we get some blood into her system?"

.

.

.

"Is that Flame-brain awake?" Gray asked

.

.

.

Natsu… he was hurt. Lucy remembered hearing that.

.

.

.

It was all her fault

.

.

.

Everything that happened… it was her fault. Who else was injured? Who had shed blood or even died for her sake?

.

.

.

Why did everything hurt?

.

.

.

"Natsu…" she breathed as her eyes opened, the brightness blinding her.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that was this week's chapter! I hope you enjoyed! I'm sorry for it being short, but I already explained myself.
> 
> Please leave a comment of what you thought!
> 
> And idk if some of you thought Natsu was OOC for crying, but I just thought it was a pretty good way to show that even though he's strong, he can be too strong at times. Also that shit seems to hurt like hell. I would cry! lol
> 
> Until next time
> 
> /Sofie


	15. Guilt of Yesterday, Fear of Tomorrow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!
> 
> I hope you've all been doing good. I'm so happy to get this chapter out c:
> 
> Thank you all so much for your supportive messages, it really made me happy and just made me feel all the love we have in this community. Thank you so much for having patience and I hope you enjoy this.
> 
> And thanks so much to my lovely editor Animenerdd8 for editing this chapter - thanks for dealing with my constant pushing ahahaha but thanks for editing. you're the best!
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

* * *

"Natsu!" Lucy exclaimed as she sat up in the bed. Sweat was covering her body, and she felt as if her heart could've restarted from waking up. What bed was this again? She didn't remember. Where was she?

Looking around, Lucy found herself in the guild's infirmary. Oh right… she got burnt. Very badly. How long had she been out?

She knew that those questions weren't going to be answered if she didn't get up, and she needed to go home anyways. She needed to be in the place that made her most comfortable – to recharge and rethink _everything_.

Jumping out of the bed, she stumbled across the room, her fatigue not fully worn off yet. And in addition to that, she had forgotten that not every building in the world had UV windows. Despite the sun almost being down, and the curtains only leaving a tiny beam of sunlight on the ground, and for a moment she forgot - or happily forgot - that she was a vampire.

She got burnt.

_She remembered the heat. It wasn't for a few seconds passed that she realized that it wasn't just heat - it was the sun, and it was burning into her skin._

Lucy grabbed her head in her hands, not even noticing that her foot was still in the sunlight, sizzling. Her breathing was becoming rapid, and the nausea of the overwhelming memories became too much.

_The pain burned into her back, like red-hot iron blades skinning her flesh. She felt her skin crack and sizzle as the burns and blisters formed. A wave of nausea hit her as she could almost feel her skin crawl as the burns spread across her pale back._

Why was it replaying in her head? What was going on? The wounds that were slowly scarring on her back were throbbing, her body begging for blood so they could heal.

_"PLEASE JUST FUCKING KILL ME!" she remembered screamed with all the power her lungs could manage. Her screams had continued, soon turning into sobs and wails. It was too unbearable. Flames were blazing across her back, and she cried, and cried, and cried._

Finally, she remembered that her foot was in the sun, and she pulled it back, the blistering that was forming healing in the coolness of the unilluminated part of the room.

She got burned again. This time, despite her best efforts, it seemed too much. It wasn't the fact that it stung a bit in her foot now, but the fact that she would forever be cursed by the sun, and being a vampire was something permanent.

Her breathing sped up and her knees gave way, making her fall to the ground with a loud thump.

She couldn't afford to have a panic attack right now. She couldn't!

 _"Lucy -_ _**fuck** _ _, Luce!" she heard Natsu exclaim. Why was he here?_

Oh right… that was what he had greeted her with when she had her first panic attack after joining the guild.

_"Breathe, like this," he had motioned to his chest, taking in a deep breath, moving his hand to his stomach to show that it expanded._

Lucy followed the memory's instructions, trying her hardest to visualize Natsu's even breathing, his stomach expanding as he inhaled, and his stomach flattening as he exhaled.

" _Belly breathin'. Like babies and, I don't know, puppies do?"_

She let out the same choked giggle as she had back then, slowly but surely regaining the lost oxygen. As the memory slowly faded to the back of her mind with the rest of them, she continued following his advice, smiling at the thought of his existence.

Natsu… she remembered he was hurt. Just the thought of that made her breath hitch, but she sucked in a gulp of air harshly, forcing herself to remain in control.

"It's not my fault," she felt herself mutter, not sure if she believed it or not. "I'm okay." She wasn't, but the words spoken were enough to calm herself down a bit.

She needed to get out of there. She wanted to go home, and she needed to plan out her next move. Was she going to search for Loke and Aries, or was Jose bluffing? There was so much to do, and besides all the personal errands she needed to take care of, she now lived alone and needed money for rent.

There was so much to do!

But as soon as she pulled herself back to reality, she realized that her body was close to falling, and she just barely caught herself by leaning up against the wall.

Her head was spinning despite her calming down from the panic attack. With her scabbing hands, she guided herself out of the infirmary, her palm dragging across the rough wooden wall.

As she got outside, the guild was rowdy as usual, probably celebrating the victory. A sense of relief flooded over her as none of them seemed to be mourning over a loved one. Maybe nobody died?

Walking away from the doorway, she continued to drag her hand across the wall, trying to get to the main door without being noticed. She needed to go home. She needed to regain her thoughts and figure out what to do next.

"Lucy," Mira gasped, running towards the blonde as she was limping against the wall. The fairy was quick to throw Lucy's free arm around her own shoulder, helping her towards the bar so she could sit. "You shouldn't be walking around. Why don't I go get you a blood bag? You must-"

Lucy shook her head, wiggling in her barstool. Her whole body was aching and blood would surely help, but she couldn't get herself to eat. Not when she knew Natsu was this injured, and Loke, Aries, and the baby were all alive. She couldn't just sit here and do nothing.

"C-can't," she gasped, despite her eyes tightening. By the worried look on Mira's face, her eyes must have turned black by now. "How many g-got hurt because of me?"

Mira frowned a bit, evidently debating whether or not she should tell the truth to the already distressed vampire. "None of this was your fault."

"How many?" Lucy hissed. She didn't want to make the fairy sad with her crummy mood, but she needed to know.

"Around… eleven? Maybe less, I'm not quite sure," Mira replied, letting Lucy sit on her own.

Eleven wasn't as bad as she had expected, but it was still bad. People had shed blood for her.

Mira placed her hand on Lucy's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Listen, you need to regain your energy. Let me find something to help, alright?"

Lucy just nodded absently, and as Mira left the vampire to herself, she quickly retreated to the other side of the bar, her feet barely touching the ground.

Once again, Lucy spaced out, her hazy gaze resting on her fumbling thumbs. She was slowly but surely calming down - perhaps because of the hunger that was slowly creeping up on her.

But as fast as she zoned out, she was quickly pulled out of her daze by a high voice.

"Lu!" someone called for her. As Lucy whipped her head around towards the creature, her world spinning as she did, she was met by Levy running towards her. Before she could even react, she was engulfed in a tight hug, wincing slightly when Levy's arms touched her scarred skin. "I was so worried," Levy cried out, her grip tightening around the vampire.

As Lucy brain finally registered that she was being hugged, she let her arms slide around the tiny witch's body, hugging her back. "You're awake," she murmured, relief flooding through her body. "Y-you shouldn't be running around like that."

As Levy pulled back, she rolled her eyes and huffed, "I should be saying the same about you," her voice was teasing to start with, but as she took a further look at Lucy's state, she frowned, her hand elevating over the visible wounds. "Look at you," she whispered.

Lucy had to suppress a sigh. Her burning had been extreme and painful, but she knew that scars weren't easy to get as a vampire - except if they were really extreme. Usually, a bit of blood would heal the wounds, but Lucy wasn't sure how much of a healer blood would be in her case.

Feeling the sober atmosphere between the two, Lucy was quick to change the subject. "But look at you," Lucy smiled weakly. "You're completely healed up. There's barely a scrape left."

Levy's frown turned into a warm smile as she nodded eagerly. "Yeah! I heard that you used some of your blood to heal us. That was amazing! I think I feel even better than before."

Lucy managed to grin. "I'm glad."

The two fell into a casual chat for a while, trying their hardest to avoid the subject of the battle that had just happened.

"Ta-da!" Mira exclaimed cheerily, slamming down a wooden basket on the bar counter in front of Lucy. Just as basket hit the counter, the wonderful scent of blood hit Lucy's nose. Her eyes tightened, and she felt the stinging sensation in her gums. Yup, she was hungry.

"W-what's this?" Lucy croaked, her black eyes avoiding the contents of the basket.

"Blood bags," Mira explained, wincing in surprise when Lucy whipped her head towards the basket revealing her dark, hungry eyes. Before Lucy could even open her mouth, Mira answered her unspoken question, "And no, we didn't steal them. Some of us grouped together and tapped some of our own blood for you."

Lucy swallowed thickly, gently picking up a blood bag. On the small note on the bag, it said, 'Juvia - type: AB+ (?)'. As she weighed its contents in her hand, the red liquid swirling around in the bag, she felt her throat catch on fire once again. It smelled _amazing_.

Levy nudged her side. "Go ahead and drink," she encouraged, but she quickly got distracted, and pointed down in the basket, "This is mine! I was the first one to get tapped from." She smiled proudly, and Lucy couldn't help but smile as well.

With shaking hands, Lucy untied the knot on the blood bags cord. It unfolded like a straw, and she had to suppress a huff in amusement of how domestic it seemed. Just sipping blood from a blood-bag as if it was some sort of tropical refreshment.

She gazed up one last time, where Levy and Mira nodded before she took the 'straw' between her lips and tasted the blood on her tongue. As soon as she tasted it, she could barely contain herself. It had been so long since she tasted something so wonderful. She appreciated Natsu for helping her feed, but he tasted disgusting. This, however, was paradise.

It took her less than thirty seconds to empty the bag, and even then she tried to suck up the excess liquid. The thick liquid was stuck to her teeth, but she merely licked it off.

The relief was immediate, and she couldn't help but sigh in contentment. Of course, the urge to drink every single bag of blood in one sitting was still there, as well as the intense burn in the throat, but she felt less murderous at that moment. When she opened her eyes again, she was met by Levy and Mira gazing at her with amazed grins on their faces.

"That's the most vampire-ish things I've ever seen," Levy snickered, poking Lucy's side playfully.

"W-what do you mean by that?" Lucy sputtered, flustered by the sudden attention.

Her question didn't get answered, however, as another voice joined the conversation.

"Love rival chose Juvia's bag first," a voice chirped.

As Lucy looked over her shoulder, Juvia and Gray stood waving at her, Juvia uncomfortably close to Gray's side. As the mermaid was in her human form, she wore normal clothes, consisting of a crop top and a long skirt. On her plain stomach rested a thin, white line, a scar that wasn't there before the battle. She most likely had found a way to heal it, but the fact that Juvia, a friend of Lucy's, had gotten hurt was tragic.

Fighting back the self-hate, Lucy instead asked, "Love rival?" She slowly raised an eyebrow as the mermaid just kept a bright - almost murderous - smile on her face.

"Yeah, you are Juvia's love rival," she chirped. "But Gray is Juvia's, and Juvia did not appreciate the way Gray was worried about love rival."

Lucy blinked, gazing over at Levy who just nervously shrugged. As she gazed over at Gray, to see him equally uncomfortable and confused, she merely sputtered, "J-Juvia, I don't like Gray that way."

"Sure you don't," Juvia drawled out, her eyes rolling as if it was obvious that Lucy was in love with Gray - which wasn't the case.

As a tension - thanks to Juvia - slowly crept up on them, Mira cleared her throat, bringing the attention back to the basket with blood-bags. "Well, as I was saying, we all got together to make this for you. You can keep it in your house, you know, in your fridge or something." Lucy nodded with a small smile - unsure if she could actually stay away from it if it was in her house. "And it's from a lot of different creatures because we didn't know what's your… favorite type."

"Well, we actually do know that her favorite kind of blood is werewolf," Gray snickered, almost in a friendly teasing tone.

As Mira's face lit up, her inner matchmaking demon evident on her smirk, Lucy swore she would've blushed if she could.

"That's right!" Mira exclaimed, clasping her hands together. "You usually feed on Natsu. That's is adorable!"

As soon as Gray had burst out that 'innocent' remark, the topic completely changed to Lucy and Natsu's relationship. Levy was gushing about it with Mira, while Juvia was congratulating Lucy… for something. Gray just sent her a half-apologetic smirk, which Lucy didn't know how to respond to.

What were they now? Friends?

Fighting the urge to run away and hide, Lucy took a deep breath to contain herself.

"Speaking of," Lucy started, desperate to change the topic. "Where is Natsu?"

"He's resting at home," Gray nodded, pulling out a chair beside Juvia. Mira was quick to pour him a cold drink, him accepting it with gratitude. "Wendy's with him, so he's all safe."

Lucy slowly nodded, missing the worried looks her friends were giving each other. As she looked back up at them, she asked, "What happened to him?"

They all looked around at each other, contemplating who should break the apparently bad news.

"He got shot with a silver bullet," Gray sighed, encircling the drink with his hands. "Gajeel and Romeo got it out, but he was pretty hurt."

Lucy's jaw dropped, and she felt cold sweat covering her body.

A silver bullet. A silver fucking bullet. Those things were _lethal_ to werewolves, and Natsu just needed 'to rest at home'. He could've been dead - dead because of _her_. She felt her breath hitch for the probably millionth time that day, not dramatic enough for anyone to notice, but sudden enough for Lucy to know that she needed to leave.

"I think I'm going to need some fresh air," Lucy choked, gently placing the empty blood-bag beside the first one. The once cheerful atmosphere at the bar died down as Lucy pushed her chair to the side, walking past her small crowd of friends.

She knew that the guild had a small balcony on the roof, and as she witnessed before (when she had gotten burnt) the sun was either gone or gone enough for her to be outside.

As she began climbing the stairs, she heard Gray murmur, "I'll go after her."

* * *

It was kind of symbolic. It was symbolic in the way that the night sky was clear after such a heated battle as if the world was congratulating them on winning, but it still didn't feel like a victory. It felt underwhelming and kind of bittersweet, but Lucy was forcing that feeling back the best that she could.

She was 'getting some fresh air', after all. In real life, she was just stargazing, taking in the beauty she had time and time again. It made her feel closer to her old, extended family, feeling as if the constellations each of them represented were smiling down at her, giving her strength to get through the next day.

She hadn't been stargazing as much after she got turned. At night she had been busy hunting, and after she joined Fairy Tail she was beginning to get into a normal sleeping routine again.

Snapping her out of thoughts, the door behind her opened, and she turned to see her earlier savior - Gray.

Surprise was evident on her face as she raised her brows. She was only able to nod in greeting and the sly smirk on Gray's lips as he nodded back intimidated her.

"Pretty night, isn't it?" he spoke, clearly creating small talk to build up to a bigger conversation that they both knew they needed to have.

"Yeah," Lucy breathed, turning her head back up to the night sky. As if the she-devil was taunting her, the constellation of Aquarius twinkled slightly.

As Gray joined her by the railing, they both fell into a semi-awkward silence.

But what was she supposed to do? Apologize for the fifth hundredth time? That would get her nowhere and she knew it.

"Sucks ass, doesn't it?" Gray spoke up, making Lucy look up. "Sucks thinking that you are the root of the destruction."

Lucy responded with a choked laugh, "Doesn't help when your brain wants you dead."

"I can only imagine," Gray smiled. He smiled at her as if there had been no tension whatsoever between them and it annoyed Lucy to no end.

So she spoke up.

"How can you just change your opinion of me-" she snapped her fingers. "-like that?"

Gray sighed, running a hand through his dark hair, his shirt long forgotten. "I dunno... I guess I kind of just realized that I'm taking my own shit out on you when you haven't done anything wrong." He gazed up at the star-filled sky. "It sucks to say because I hate being wrong, but none of us can live healthily if I don't grow the fuck up."

Lucy nodded slowly, taking in his explanation. It explained the situation pretty well, but curiosity was spiking inside of her. He took 'his own shit' out on her, but what caused that?

"What happened to you, Gray?" Lucy finally dared to ask. She needed to know what made him hate vampires so much, so she could avoid being like that.

"Guess you deserve to know, huh?" he replied leaning his back against the cold railing.

He sighed deeply, closing his eyes.

"When I was a kid, my parents were killed by that time's version of Jose. A vampire called Deliora."

A pained expression painted his face as he ran a hand through his spiky hair. Lucy kind of wanted to console him, but he wasn't done, it seemed.

"But it wasn't the death of my parents that made me hate vampires," Gray continued, his eyes dark as he recalled that night. Lucy's eyes darted towards Gray's eyes, his gaze not meeting hers. "I was taken in by an older Izling named Ur, together with another kid, who I later thought of as my brother, Lyon. I regret that I didn't ever tell him that I cared for him, because I'm sure he hates me now."

Lucy's brows were furrowed together in sympathy, feeling for the Izling, and giving him the time he needed to tell his story.

"One day, a rumor went around about Deliora's whereabouts… and I kinda went crazy," Gray admitted, his voice turning into a mere whisper. "I was so obsessed with him and killing that son of a bitch, that I didn't even think of the fact that Ur would try to protect me."

As he continued, his voice turned quieter and he sped up as if the pain was too much for him to handle.

With a shaky sigh, Gray collected himself, continuing, "I went after him despite Ur's warnings, and even when she told me I was on my own, Ur came to find me. I tried to take him on my own but he toyed with me, laughing as he beat a child, whose parents he _killed_."

Lucy related to that. Jose had killed her entire family, and instead of just giving her a merciful death, he beat her, broke her leg, and turned her into the thing that ruined her life.

"Ur found me, and got in a few good attacks," he whispered, but his voice showed that 'a few good attacks' weren't enough. "Enough to create a getaway for me. S-she promised me that she would find me after she was done. I was a child, ya know? I t-thought she was the strongest person in the world, so I ran and I found Lyon."

Lucy held her breath, not liking how this story was going.

"When she didn't come back, we went back to find her," he whispered, his eyes closed tightly. "She had killed Deliora, but… it seemed to be two-sided. She died from her injuries because of my foolishness - because I didn't care about the consequences, she died."

"I'm so sorry, Gray," Lucy whispered, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. She felt him tense under her touch, but as quickly as he tensed, he relaxed under her gentle grasp.

"Nah, it's not your fault," Gray assured her as she took back her hand. "I realize that now. I thought all vampires were evil, but I was just being an asshole."

"That's not true," Lucy spoke. "Deliora made you hate vampires, and I understand that - I did too. I absolutely hated that I had become what killed my family. I understand."

Gray sent her an empathetic gaze, realizing how similar their pasts were.

"I regret it wasn't me who killed 'im," Gray admitted, looking up at Lucy. "You got to do that with Jose. Please… tell me… how did it feel?"

Lucy felt her breath hitch, not expecting that question. She barely had time to process it her herself. She barely even _remembered_ it all. It was as if she blacked out for a moment, the memory of Jose's death was sped up to mere blurry images in her mind - to which she was grateful - yet the raw emotions she experienced were still fresh.

"It felt amazing," Lucy admitted, her gaze falling to her feet. "In the moment. Taking away his life when he had taken so many people I loved. It was like a relief. But then… I don't know if it's my newborn brain or if I'm just weak by nature, but I felt guilty." There were no lies, only honesty in her words. "Somewhere, someone just experienced a loss of a loved one. Now, Jose will never get to see another sunset or the stars in the sky or the smiles of the people he cares about. I took that from him."

"Do you really believe that a monster like him would have loved ones or things that made him stop and go, 'Wow, this world really is beautiful!'?"

Lucy sighed, shrugging lightly. "Even monsters have families, friends or at least people they are acquainted with. Someone who might feel the slightest amount of pain because they lost someone." She paused, looking up at the stars, met by many familiar constellations. "And even monsters have something that makes them feel like the world isn't so bad."

Gray snorted, a smirk on his lips. "You know, you're too kind for your own good. Even if one or two people feel remorse, it doesn't erase the bad shit he has done and most likely will do."

"I thought it was me comforting you," Lucy huffed, earning a chuckle from Gray.

"But for real, I really am sorry for the way I've been treating you," Gray apologized, a small smile on his lips. "It wasn't right of me as a Fairy Tail member or as a person."

Lucy shook her head, "Gray, from what you've told me, your anger is justi-"

Lucy was cut off. "Don't you dare do that thing," Gray scolded good-heartedly. "You are too damn apologetic for your own good. It's an apology, not me trying to justify my actions."

Embarrassment flooded her as she was called out, but a smile formed on her lips. "Apology accepted."

* * *

Lucy watched as the world passed by her at a slow pace. It would probably have been faster if she ran, using her supernatural powers, but the sunlight and the chances of getting caught were too risky to take.

With the little money she had left from the mission, which was dangerously low considering she'd have to pay rent for the first time soon, she had bought a train ticket to Crocus. Her plan after that was just to search.

Despite being closest to Loke of all of the workers, she had never been to his house. A little before he married Aries, the two of them moved out to start a domestic life, but due to Lucy's status and strict father, she never really had the chance to visit him - or go too far away from their property.

So she'd have to figure it out when she got there.

Going back to her hometown left an aching in her heart, knowing that she would be reminded of her dead relative. However, a small hope was still burning brightly inside of her.

Because Lucy was going to find the last, possibly remaining members of her family.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh I hope you guys enjoyed! Loved writing this chapter :')
> 
> Please leave a comment of what you thought/liked/disliked or whatever you want c:
> 
> I'm so happy about the overwhelming amount of support I've gotten. I'm doing okay. I had a bit of a meltdown last week so I had to delay this chapter, but thanks for all the reviews c:
> 
> And I'm sorry for not replying for the comments of last chapter, but I will make sure to do that next time c: love y'all!
> 
> Until next time,
> 
> /Sofie


	16. Closure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! It is I, and I have returned from the dead.
> 
> Aka - depression and exams, but I'm doing okay! I got two exams left and then we rolling B)
> 
> IMPORTANT THING!:
> 
> So I'm currently going through each chapter and just editing them a bit - nothing fancy or changing the story, mostly just grammar. However, I changed Cana from a Tiefling to a Seer (in this chapter but will get to fix it in the other chapters) and I will be adding some more reactions to Lucy's torture scene. I haven't gotten too far yet but yeah. Just what I feel needs to be polished a bit c:
> 
> Anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter! I sure did, writing it I mean.

* * *

"I'M BACK~" Natsu sang as he kicked open the doors to the guild, Happy on his shoulder and Wendy trailing behind him, scolding him about being too mobile. Immediately he was met with greetings from his fellow guildmates, words of concerns of his friends. He got it – he had told Wendy that he didn't want to be writhing in agony in the guild's infirmary. He supposed it was something about honor, but he preferred to be cozy in his own bed than a stiff mattress beside the other wounded creatures.

Natsu was excited to be back. The guild was his everything. They took him in when he had nothing but his sister – and Happy of course – and it made him feel guilty that he had concerned them. He was quick to shrug it off, hoping they all understood his reasoning behind leaving. He did just have a silver bullet torn out of his chest, so he thought he deserved the rest.

Now that he was back, his inner wolf was dying for some socializing, almost making his human form jump in excitement. He wanted to see how Romeo was holding up after having to see such a gruesome scene, and he wanted to have a late afternoon beer with Cana – and kick her ass in some card game (that she would probably win). And speaking of kicking ass, he wanted to kick Gray's for stealing his heroic highlight, but he supposed it was okay since he had gotten shot.

His stomach told him that he needed to go talk to Mira and get some food in his stomach. Despite the irony, he hadn't been hungry at all since he got shot, but his appetite was slowly showing signs of its return.

But the creature he wanted to see the most was Lucy. The images of her burned up body kept haunting him every time he closed his eyes, and the image of Gray carrying her limp body was plaguing his nightmares. For some reason, he just needed to feel her cold hand against his, and hear her breathing – God, he needed a sign that she was okay.

And he didn't know why. He had never ever, ever been that worried about another creature – not to forget, a creature he had known for only a few weeks. Despite having his cousin to thank for making it out alive, Natsu wanted to kill that son of a bitch. Gajeel had hurt Lucy and helped kill her family, and the thought of that almost made him growl.

Two snaps brought Natsu back to reality.

"Natsu?" Wendy asked, holding Charle tightly in her grip. "Are you sure that you're okay enough to be here? There's nothing wrong with taking the time you need to heal."

Natsu smiled down at his sister, ruffling her hair as he walked past her. "Don't ya worry. I'm a strong, badass werewolf! Not even silver can take me down." _Liar_. Silver had in fact taken him down.

Wendy giggled and nodded slowly. "If you say so. Be careful though!"

"Ain't I always?"

"No? I will not heal you again if you rip up your stitches in a fight with Gray!" he heard his sister yell after him, but he merely laughed.

First things first: He needed lunch, and to ask Mira where Lucy was. Natsu was quick to spot his target number one, standing in the bar and chatting with her girlfriend. The scent of whatever magical food she was cooking reached Natsu's nose and he felt his mouth watering.

"Natsu, oh my gosh!" Mira exclaimed as she saw him approaching. She was quick to leave the bar, and before he knew anything else, he was engulfed in a hug from the demon fairy. Happy saved himself from being crushed, and hissed as he landed on the floor, walking away to do Exceed stuff. "Don't scare us like that again. It will have consequences." Natsu knew when he was genuinely threatened – although it was meant lovingly – so he quickly nodded with a nervous smile.

"S-sure! Not gonna happen again," he promised, bowing slightly.

From the bar chairs, he heard the snorting laughter of a certain Seer. "Don't scare him, babe. He just got over his boo-boo."

"Ha-ha," Natsu sighed sarcastically, settling himself beside Cana who just innocently waved at him. He ignored the Seer, and look up at Mira again. "For more important things: Where's Lucy, and can I have whatever yer cooking?"

Mira shook her head with an amused sigh. "Is food and Lucy all you can think off?"

Natsu was about to protest, but Mira cut him off.

"For your questions: I don't know where Lucy is, but try asking Gray, he talked to her last, and seco-"

"WAIT, GRAY?!" Natsu exclaimed a little too loudly, causing people to look his way. Lowering his voice, he said, "Okay, okay, okay. So ya allowed her to get up, ya don't know where she is, and apparently that Ice-bastard knows where she is?"

Lucy had been incredibly injured, and sure, blood might help, but she was in no condition to be walking around. Natsu couldn't help but snarl.

"Aww, our lil' Natsu is in looooove~" Cana sang, slamming her empty beer mug into the counter, earning a growl from the already irritated Natsu.

Mira shook her head with a frown on her face. "Sorry, hun. Lucy wanted to be up, and I couldn't just stop her."

Natsu grumbled under his breath before getting up. "Nevermind breakfast. I needa talk to Iceicle."

As he turned his back to the girls, he walked through the crowded guild hall, almost getting hit by tables and chairs, but he didn't really care. He'd gotten hit by worse before – like Gray's fist once. Only once and it caught him off-guard.

Dodging a chair, Natsu spotted a blur of red and black. Bingo.

"Yo, Ice-princess," Natsu called, his brows furrowed as he approached the Izling and demi-god. "Where's Luce?"

Gray turned his head towards Natsu, his hand encircled around his usual icy drink. "Oh, look who returned from the dead."

Erza, who was in the midst of eating her strawberry cake, looked up as well, a soft smile resting on her face. "Good to see up. How are you feeling?"

Natsu hadn't heard from Erza since she got taken down, but by the looks of it, she was doing okay. That, or she was covering it up well. Being one of the strongest members of the guild had its downfalls.

Natsu shrugged, his gaze still on Gray. "I'm fine." He wasn't brushing Erza's concern off in favor of yelling at Gray, he really just didn't want to be pitied. It was just like the days after his transformation. Pity was invadable.

"Okay, but have any of you seen Lucy?" Natsu finally asked, running his hand through his spiky hair. In all honesty, he wanted to tell Gray to back off and he didn't know why! The fact that Gray had talked one-on-one with Lucy just seemed weird to him since Gray really didn't like vampires, but Natsu couldn't really just tell him to stay away. The wolf in him was conflicted.

"Don't worry, I talked to her," Gray nodded, his hands resting on the hem of his shirt, ready to tear it off.

"Gray Fullbuster, if you dare to take that shirt off, your arm goes as well," Erza threatened, in which Gray looked down on his hands and realized what he was doing. As he apologized embarrassed, Erza smiled proud as a mother and said, "Please continue."

Gray cleared his throat, his fingers drumming the round table. "Right, eh... she was feeling guilty about the whole thing, so we talked."

Natsu almost choked on his own and coughed as she exclaimed, "She came to _you_ to _talk_?"

Gray raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms. "Yeah? So what?"

"You hate her," Natsu countered, feeling annoyed that Gray was the one who had been there to help her. That was Natsu's job, and Gray didn't even like vampires, so why did he do it?

Erza nodded, side-eyeing Natsu as she spoke, "I'm rather surprised as well. Any change of heart?"

"Stop assuming that I'm not nice!" Gray grumbled, a pout appearing on his face.

"But ya ain't nice!" Natsu contoured, feeling a grin spread across his face.

Within seconds, Gray's forehead hit Natsu's trying to push him back. "Say that again, I dare you!"

"Boys!" Erza exclaimed, and as soon as the fight started, Erza ended it with a firm hit to both of their heads. The two creatures fell to the floor, groaning in agony.

The two of them just stared angrily at each other, mentally (if possible) sending each other threats.

"No, I came to Lucy," Gray sighed, crossing his arms as he leaned back in his chair. "I apologized for being a dick and we just talked about stuff that happened."

Both Natsu and Erza send each other a weird look. Gray admitting he was wrong and actually owning up to it was a rare sight since the Izling usually liked to be right.

Erza, however, was quickly shot out of her trance. "I'm proud of you, Gray," she smiled warmly, which Gray just awkwardly nodded in return.

"So… you just talked," Natsu asked slowly, trying to wrap his head around the Izling's sudden change of heart. "And you _apologized_?"

"That's right."

"And nothing more?"

Gray smirked at Natsu's dumbfoundedness, and added, "No, I didn't try to steal your girlfriend."

"She's not my-" Natsu started, only to realize Gray was just trying to taunt him. Grumbling annoyed under his breath, he continued, "Where's she now?"

"I'm pretty sure she went back to her apartment to rest," Gray confirmed. "But that was last night. She probably just needed the rest."

"Well, she slept long enough," Natsu said, jumping out of his chair. "Let's go visit her!"

* * *

As Lucy walked through her old hometown, the nostalgia felt almost physical. She remembered every inch of this place, where the good hiding spots from Loke was, where the baker who always gave her discount was, and the spots her mother and herself ate lunch on Thursdays.

Her head felt woozy as if she hadn't drunk water for a long time – stars invading her vision. Of course, she didn't need to drink water, and despite having an extra blood bag with her, her body felt like it was falling apart. It was screaming at her to go lay down and let her wounds heal with time, but Lucy just kept on moving. She could rest later, but she needed to find out if Jose had been telling the truth.

The centric town looked as it had always done. Shiny buildings everywhere, snobby people walking around as if they owned the place, and a big fountain in the middle of everything. Lucy couldn't help to think back to the times she had spent here. Either walking around with some of the Zodiacs or sneaking around with her mother, despite Jude almost forbidding them from leaving without a bodyguard. It was weird to think that those things were never going to happen again, but she pushed those depressing thoughts back, not wanting to waste time on things that couldn't be changed.

There were a handful of places Lucy wanted to check, the first being the old mansion. If her parents were to be buried anywhere, it would be the mansion. That's where they had built their lives; dealt with their struggles and cherished their best moments. The mansion was their everything – next to Lucy.

Without much thought, Lucy's feet began to move in the same route she had always taken. She knew the route like the back of her hand – especially in the dark since she and Loke used to sneak out sometimes at night to get some booze.

The two of them had grown closer over the years after he had been introduced. He became the annoying big brother she always wanted, despite him being annoying as heck, but she couldn't imagine her life without him. But this, however, was her life without him. Miserable, but getting lighter with every step she took.

The hope of him being alive shone brighter than her sadness.

Walking through the hole in the wooden fence – the sharp edges of the wood now being lethal to her – she found herself in the corner of the old Heartfilia mansion. Not much had changed, except for the fact that the grass was unkept, the bushes were growing wild, and white sheets were hanging in front of every window – probably from keeping strangers from peeking into the crime scene.

A sense of bitterness flooded Lucy's body as she saw her old home. It was quiet here. The mansion usually was a quiet place, but now and again you might pick up distant conversations, hearing laughter and running feet from everyone who lived there.

Now, it was empty.

In the distant, right in front of the mansion, headstones were placed, and Lucy knew she was in the right place. Wrapping her cloak tighter around her body, she found herself using her new speed, not even thinking of the dangers of getting caught, but the mansion was empty so it didn't really matter. She just needed the closure.

Twelve graves stood tall in front of her, the polished granite reflecting the sunlight that was heating up her cloaked back as well. Twelve graves were standing on top of her dead family members. Twelve graves were a permanent reminder of what went down almost two months ago.

At the sight of the first grave, her breath hitched.

_Ara Aquarius Torrent_  
_Member of the Zodiacs and loyal friend of The Heartfilias  
_ _X? - X784_

Lucy's brows furrowed as she moved on to the next gravestone, which luckily happened to be Scorpio (Aquarius would most likely haunt her forever for letting her rest beside someone else than Scorpio).

_Idris Scorpio Antares_  
_Member of the Zodiacs and loyal friend of The Heartfilias  
_ _X? - X784_

They were all so… insincere! All of the Zodiacs were more than just members of a group and friends of a rich family. They had hopes, aspirations, dreams, and relations across the whole country. The world was a cruel place as it was, but the short, hollow messages on those graves weren't respectful.

Whoever set up the graves didn't even write their birth year, perhaps not even looking into it. It was all so bizarre, but what was most bizarre was the fact that there were twelve graves. Where were her parents' graves?

With frantic footsteps she walked past all the graves one by one, trying to find out what the hell was going on. If they weren't here, where were they?

_Virgo, Sagittarius, Taurus…_ where were they? As she had set into run, the massive stones simply just passing by, she caught onto all the engravings of the graves. They all said the same thing, and it annoyed Lucy to no end - she'd have to do something about that at some point.

"Come on," Lucy whispered as she moved on. " _Come on!_ "

_Gemini, Cancer, Libra, Pisces…_

There were two graves left. Those could be her parents' graves. Or those could be Loke and Aries' graves, and at this point, Lucy was scared of either outcome. Lucy had seen her parents die. She knew that they were dead, so if they weren't there, they could be anywhere. At King's old mansion, at their old 'guild' (more like a hangout place for humans and creatures) Love & Lucky - somewhere they both treasured, and Lucy desperately needed to say goodbye properly.

However, as Lucy, with closed eyes, stepped closer to the last graves, she gaped as she opened her eyes.

_Layla King Heartfilia_  
_Beloved mother of Lucy Heartfilia and wife of Jude Heartfilia.  
_ _X748 - X784_

_Jude Heartfilia_  
_Beloved father of Lucy Heartfilia and husband of Layla King Heartfilia  
_ _X746 - X784_

A weird sense of bittersweet happiness swept over Lucy as she read the engravings of her parents' graves. They really were dead. Lucy knew this fact, but staring right into the eyes of said fact just confirmed what she was trying to deny.

On the other hand, however, Jose hadn't been lying. He had been sincere when he had begged for mercy, telling the truth of the last pieces of her family.

It stung a bit – the guilt – but after these past weeks, that kind of feeling didn't bother her as much as the first day of vampirism. It hurt like hell, sure, but it was beginning to numb out, which Lucy supposed was a good thing.

Suddenly, another presence entered the mansion's 'graveyard'.

"Who's there?" a voice called, and as the sound reached Lucy's ears, goosebumps traveled across her skin. "This is private property, you know?"

That voice… that voice she'd been annoyed by her whole life, especially when it was in a teasing matter. That voice that had soothed her after panic attacks, or helped her through her exam stress. That voice that she'd loved so much because it belonged to one of her family members, despite not being related by blood.

Lucy reluctantly turned her head towards the voice, peeking out of her hood - praying that the shade of it would save her face of potential burns.

Out of the fabric, she caught a glimpse of bright orange. Spiky, bright orange hair that could only belong to one person, because he was the only person with such an annoying shade of hair.

"Loke," she whispered, feeling her eyes sting.

Loke's eyes widened as her voice reached his ears.

"Lucy," he choked back. The flowers he had held tightly in his hand dropped to the ground. His pale hand pushed his glasses to up a bit, just enough to dry off the tears that had been forming in his eyes. When he was done with that, Lucy didn't even have to move an inch before Loke had moved with lightning speed, and engulfed her in a hug.

Loke's arms clasped around Lucy, his grip tight as if he was afraid she would disappear if he loosened his grip. Stunned by the tight hug, Lucy took a few seconds to hug back, but when she did, she didn't let go. She buried her cloaked head in the crook of his neck, feeling her stupid emotions act up, and soon she was a sobbing mess.

Loke wasn't any better though as he was crying buckets as well. It was clear to hear that he was trying his best not to let his emotions take over, but only a few moments later he became just a big of a sobbing mess as Lucy.

For a what seemed like a wonderful eternity, they held each other tight, crying and whispering about how they thought the other person died. They were both here, and so were everyone else – in their hearts, the rest of the Zodiacs and the Heartfilias lived on.

"You're such a crier," Lucy sniffled, burying her face further into his neck. All hunger and murderous intentions were long forgotten and replaced with pure love and affection. She felt as if her life of an incomplete puzzle was slowly regaining more puzzle pieces. Loke was one of the missing pieces and she felt less hollow. She felt almost normal.

A choked laugh escaped Loke's lips. "Says you," he countered, his embrace around her tightening. "Man, I never thought I'd see you again."

"Me neither," Lucy giggled, sniffling as she repositioned her head against his. "I… I saw your corpse."

"As if a little blood loss could take me down," Loke huffed, pulling back slightly to look at her face. He frowned at her appearance. Although the blood had helped a lot, her body was still healing, leaving her wounds scabbing and scarring. There weren't any on her face, but the ones on the back of her neck were peeping out on the sides of her nape – together with Jose's fang marks. "But I can see they got you good."

Lucy nodded with a sigh as Loke's hands moved to her shoulders. "Jose doesn't like it when something he created runs away."

Loke's brows furrowed as he gently lifted her hood – just a bit – to see her face. He scanned every inch of her face before he sighed, "You really are a vampire, huh?"

Lucy looked down at her feet before nodding slightly. "Yeah…"

Of course, she knew that Loke wouldn't turn her back on her just because she was a vampire now, but it still made her ashamed. She was the _thing_ that killed their family.

As if Loke could read her mind, he threw his head back with an exaggerated groan before sighing, "Lame."

"Excuse me," Lucy huffed, lightly pushing him. "I'm pretty badass. I've seen _stuff_."

"What stuff?" Loke challenged the ever so familiar teasing smirk on his face.

Lucy thought for a moment before returning the smirk. "Your ugly face."

"Ohhh, _princess_ , now you've done it!"

After that, Loke somehow managed to get her in a gentle neck lock, cackling as Lucy begged for mercy. As if they were twelve all over again, he gave her wet willy as she let out a screech mixed with a laugh. For the longest time they were teasing each other like the old days, but nonetheless, they ended up in a tight embrace once again.

"Your laugh is ever so enchanting," Loke sighed, chuckling as Lucy hit the back of his head and huffed in annoyance.

"And you are ever so forgetful about your marriage," Lucy replied playfully. As she pulled back, she looked down, catching the sight of Loke's hand moving towards hers. She grabbed it with, afraid that he would disappear if she didn't.

"C'mon," Loke murmured, nodding his head in the direction of… away from the mansion. The mansion was a pretty big place. "Let's go to my place. I think we have some things to talk through."

Lucy nodded. She had almost forgotten about all the things that there were to talk through. The past weeks, Jose, their family, Aries… Oh, Aries – Lucy didn't know you could miss someone apologizing for nothing every day, but she missed the sweet girl _so much_.

"How's Aries?" she decided to ask, not able to wait until they got there.

"She's ready to burst any minute now," Loke responded, gripping Lucy's hand tighter as they walked, the graves passing by them. "She's… a little cranky."

Lucy giggled. "That's not something I can say I've seen before."

"Oh, you have no idea…"

* * *

Natsu's grip tightened around the piece of paper he had been staring at for the past five minutes. Across from him, by Lucy's kitchen table, Gray and Erza had pulled out a map of Fiore – Erza was always prepared with a map – and tracing the railroad with their fingers.

A note. She had left him a note.

_Going home for some closure. Back in a week – Lucy_

Sure, Lucy had every right as an adult to go wherever, but the wolf in Natsu wasn't happy. It didn't sit back as Natsu had told it to, it kept screaming that it didn't know where Lucy was. Why was it acting so strangely?

And why hadn't Lucy come to see him first? The hurt stung a bit, and he felt stupid for being so selfish. Lucy had gone through a lot, and she deserved the closure, but the wolf – and some parts (a lot) of himself – just wished that he could go with her.

He didn't know if she was safe and he didn't know he she had healed probably.

What he did know, however, was that the wolf in him wouldn't allow him any sleep until they found her again.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh dang! LOKE AND ARIES IS ALIVE! Natsu is experiencing... a feeling... what is that?
> 
> Hope you guys enjoyed! A handful of people (both here and FFNET) didn't like the last chapter, and I'm sorry for that, and I hope this chapter made it better!
> 
> Please leave a comment of what you thought! Good or bad, doesn't matter, I feed off of feedback ahahah
> 
> Until next time
> 
> /Sofie


	17. Talk It Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody!
> 
> What is this? A chapter? After so many months? Ye, hi, I'm back.
> 
> I will talk more after the chapter, but for now, enjoy the the chapter!

* * *

Lucy couldn't recount how many times she'd imagined this scenario for the past many weeks. Of how at every moment they could show up alive, or she'd wake up from a very vivid dream. Some nights she even imagined if it had all been a prank. Hell, she wouldn't have cared if that was the case. She just needed them back.

And here she was. Walking through the forest close to the Heartfilia Estate, her hand tightly gripping Loke's hand, because letting go could mean that he would disappear again.

But despite the countless daydreams and imaginary reunion reactions, she was at a loss for words. Now that she was actually in the moment and not just daydreaming, there were so much to say, that she couldn't speak. Her tongue couldn't form enough words to tell them how much she loved them, what had happened these many weeks, and how she thought they had died with the rest of them.

There were so much to say, and Loke seemed to have the same thought.

Both of them had stopped crying, their hands still entangled, while small hiccups, heaves, and giggles escaping their lips every now and again. Giggles because neither of them thought they'd ever see the other again, and giggles because crying in front of the other was a rare sight.

And for the past many weeks - those agonizing, heart-wrenching weeks - Lucy had been filled with nothing despair, anger, and fear. So much that she felt as if her body was becoming too hard to live in. If there only insisted negative feelings inside of her, where should she live?

But now they were all gone. At least for just a moment. Now, she wasn't overwhelmed by anguish, but by the love, she felt so deeply for her family.

Snapping her out of her thoughts, Loke gave her cold hand a tight squeeze, meeting her gaze as she looked up. "We're here," he whispered, a smile forming on his lips.

As Loke nodded straight ahead of him, Lucy's eyes followed, and as she met

A small cabin took root in the clearing of the forest surrounded by flowers, trees, and plants that definitely wasn't intended for this part of Fiore - although they did look surprisingly healthy for this kind of climate.

' _Aries_ ,' Lucy decided amused as she looked around mesmerized. Everything was so beautiful here, which made sense since Aries was very keen on pretty things.

The cabin itself was big enough to house the two of them, plus a few other's if they squished together. At least it seemed so from the outside.

A porch was surrounding the front of the cabin, again holding a variety of exotic plants.

And by the foot of the porch, with a beautiful view of the paradise-like garden around them, a big, solid hammock stood planted where the sunlight hit the porch.

In that hammock was a blur of pink.

"Hey, hun," Loke called out, catching the attention of the last part of their family - Aries. "I brought a guest."

At the mention of a guest, Aries' eyes snapped towards the mysterious, hooded visitor. With careful hands, Lucy propped up the cloak slightly, - carefully avoiding the sun's rays - revealing her face to Aries.

As their eyes locked, for just a moment, Aires' eyes were already flooding with tears.

"Lucy," she whispered, as she slowly got out of her chair. Tears were already streaming down her face as the vampire gave her a stiff smile and waved.

Lucy could barely comprehend this moment. Not only did she know some of her family members were alive, but she was actually looking at them and engaging with them.

It wasn't long before Aries had hastily, yet stiffly gotten out of the hammock; her body now fully visible. Mostly, she looked the same as she did the last time Lucy saw her - pink, silky hair, closed body-language, innocent brown eyes and slightly pregnant. Now she had just gone from slightly pregnant to ready-to-burst-any-minute-now pregnant.

With one hand supporting her back, Aries made her way with small steps; carefully moving down the two steps from the porch.

Deciding to meet her half-way, Lucy looked down at Loke's hand and then gave him a reassuring last squeeze as she went on her way with hasty steps.

As the two of them met, Lucy felt herself being dragged into a hug. Careful not to squeeze the swollen stomach, she maneuvered her arms around Aries' neck; clinging to her as if this - _this moment!_ \- was the cure to everything wrong in the world.

There was no fear here. No fear of accidentally inhaling Aries' sweet scent. No fear of going feral. No fear of being present and vulnerable. And if just for now, she was free.

The two women had already burst into tears, sobbing as they held each other close. Countless times, Aries uttered ' _I'm so sorry!_ ' under her breath. For what, Lucy didn't know, but she didn't care either. Aries was so weird and wonderful - something Lucy was slowly rediscovering - so it didn't matter.

Finally breaking apart, Aries slid her gentle hand across the side of Lucy's face, stopping at her cheek as Lucy leaned against her hand. With a swipe of her thumb, Aries dried away Lucy's tears, letting out a watery laugh as the blonde produced even more tears.

"Look at you," Lucy sniffled, nodding down towards Aries' swollen stomach. "You're so… _pregnant_."

Aries giggled, letting go of Lucy's face to support her back, her other hand finding Lucy's quickly. "You're correct," she whispered as she grinned, the blonde giving her hand a firm squeeze. "And you're still so beautiful."

Fresh tears pooled from the blonde's eyes. If Aries hadn't noticed Lucy was a vampire, she would soon. Even so, there was no way Aries was going to have a bad reaction. Besides, the pink-haired woman had always been good at reading people, so she already knew.

"C'mon, girls," Loke jumped in, separating the girls by throwing one arm around Lucy's neck, then using his other arm as a support for Aries. "Let's go inside. I think it's time we catch up."

The next few hours were going to be challenging.

* * *

Half an hour later, after the three of them had composed themselves enough to speak clearly, they had settled in the living room of the cabin. As Aries had offered to make tea, Loke had gently sat her down by the table and rushed off to the kitchen to do that exact proposal.

The inside of the house had a more rustic and cozy look compared to the jungle-y outside. In the middle of the living room stood an elongated table, eight chairs fitting around it. The floor was made of medium-dark wood and the walls were covered in brown-reddish wallpaper. Light streamed through the windows, illuminating small light patterns on the ground from passing through the white lace curtains.

There were some closed doors around on the walls, but close to the dining table was a cutout in the wall, leading to the kitchen. Close to the kitchen opening was an antique couch, probably more aesthetic than comfortable.

It was definitely Aries who had designed the inside as well. Loke would have just hung up a poster and called it a day.

"I'm at 38 weeks," Aries replied when Lucy asked how far she was. Dropping her hand to her stomach, she smiled. "It's not t-too bad since I have Loke to do stuff for me. I just really m-miss being mobile."

Lucy nodded sympathetically, her thumb drawing circles onto the back of Aries' hand.

"Now that I think about it, Loke would be a great butler," Lucy pondered out loud, purposely directing it in Loke's direction. "How much an hour?"

Before the Aries and her could even start negotiating prizes, Loke butted in with an annoyed tone, "I heard that, and I think Ari will agree that I am, in fact, not a great butler," he argued from the kitchen, the sound of mugs and plates clinking together enacting from his direction. "And for your hypothetical scenario… I'd be worth a lot with how I look."

"I can't believe I missed you," Lucy joked as he walked out of the kitchen, a platter with two cups of tea and a split muffin. Lucy had politely declined - for obvious reasons - and neither of them had questioned her for that.

Despite the peace she was at, Lucy couldn't deny the irritating hunger that was slowly bubbling up in her throat. Usually, it was like agonizing flames burning her throat raw, but for some reason, it was more like flaming-hot blisters forming in the back of her mouth. Perhaps something in her mind told her to get a grip of herself as she was with the last two members of her family, but she couldn't be sure.

She was just grateful that she had a few extra bags of blood in her bag, begging her to drink them when she had time. Right now, however, it was time to talk.

"Are you sure you don't want anything?" Loke asked as he sat down. He glanced uncomfortably at the empty space in front of Lucy.

"I really haven't gotten used to eating food," Lucy sighed, resting her cheek against the palm of her hand. "Last time I ate, I got sick and wasted like… a good 700 Jewels."

Mimicking her sigh, Loke replied, "Sucks. These are some killer muffins." He said, stuffing his mouth with a bite.

For a few moments, the three of them sat in silence. They all knew that they needed to talk, but somehow - at least for Lucy - it was hard to just start. So much had happened, and not much of it was positive.

"I think… you guys need to catch up on a few things," Lucy spoke slowly, her eyes glued to her hands that she had collided in front of herself.

Both Loke and Aries nodded affectionally; their silence meaning that she had time to collect her thoughts.

There were so many things to say, and she just wanted to blurt everything out all at ones.

But then she just started talking.

She told them about the month she spent in hiding. Wandering through cities by night, feeding when she could, discovering mind control, and fighting to keep her urges back. She told them about how she would go from hotel to hotel, sleeping during the day, and trying to distract herself from the agonizing hunger.

She told them about killing that man. It wasn't about just confessing it, but just saying it, since she hadn't really dealt with the fact that she killed someone. She trusted them enough to tell them, and they showed nothing but support.

She told them about meeting Natsu, him saving her life, and bringing her to Fairy Tail. There was so much to tell about Fairy Tail. About the different creatures, the acceptance, the different personalities, and so much more. She would be lying if she said she didn't miss her old home, but this was starting to feel like the next best thing.

She told them about Gajeel. About how… confusing he was, to say the least. About how he helped her escape, and warned her about the attack, yet still worked against her. She told them that he had to - Jose would've killed him and everyone he loved. Lucy hadn't forgiven him fully for what he'd done, but she was sure that if he had had another choice he wouldn't have done it. She told them how she wanted to talk to him. How she wished she could tell him that she wanted to forgive him. She just hoped he was safe, wherever he was.

Then she told them about the attack. How she was brutally tortured, how so many of her friends had gotten hurt, how Natsu had been shot by a silver bullet, and how she killed Jose. The memory of his death became less and less painful, and that scared her. She was supposed to feel bad about killing someone, but for some reason, she just didn't feel as bad as she did before. It could be a good thing, but it could also mean that she was losing empathy. She didn't want that.

At last, she took a deep breath and told them about the newborn phase. She told them the ugly and the scary - about how every little thing would trigger an emotion. She told them with a shaky voice how much she wanted to give up fighting because everything hurt. It all hurt so much, but there was nothing she could do to stop it. She was always starving, but feeding off of innocent people would make her emotions spiral out of control.

In the end, all three of them were teary-eyed, and Lucy had never been hugged so tightly in her life.

She had missed them so much. Her family wasn't back together, but she was just so happy that she still had someone left.

"So," Lucy gave a watery laugh as she dried her eyes. "That's what I have been up to. What about you guys?"

"Stop that," Loke playfully grumbled, grabbing her hand and giving it a tight squeeze. "We've been dealing, but don't try to take the attention away from yourself."

"I'm not," Lucy assured them, feeling Aries' hand on her knee. It was weird to have people be affectionate around. Sure, she had gotten her fair share of hugs in Fairy Tail, but these gentle touches were like returning home. "I'm just kind of… trying to get over it. By not bringing too much attention to it? I don't think that makes sense since that's probably considered bottling up and-" she took a deep breath. "I'm rambling."

"You're pretty good at that," Loke deadpanned, earning a glare from the vampire. "Okay, but if we _are_ changing subjects, might as well explain our whole life story."

Then Loke started talking.

He told her about the night of the attack. About how he was sure he was going to die, but then saving himself by playing dead. He didn't know how - since his heart was still racing like crazy - but he was grateful. He had snuck out, tried to get help, but there wasn't exactly a vampire stopping police force.

He told her about telling Aries, about the heartbreak and suffering they went through, grieving over their dead friends and family. Of course, they both feared for their unborn child. Nothing good ever came of mental pain in a pregnant woman, but their small bundle of joy was still very much alive inside of Aries.

At last, he told her about the funeral. About how the whole town attended; filling up a good amount of the Heartfilia garden, and how he himself spoke to each of the deceased members of their family. Then he spoke to Lucy. Loke hadn't known where she was and if she was even alive, but he still spoke to her, asking her to come home.

"Loke," Lucy started, her voice small as she avoided eye contact. "If… you knew I was alive, why didn't you come looking for me?"

Perhaps that was a selfish question. At that time, Loke needed to stay with his wife to protect her and himself. But a small ache grew inside of Lucy, and she just needed to know.

"I did," he spoke, promise strong in his voice. "I lost my trail at a hotel in Clover Town, but with my natural charm and irresistibility-" Lucy hit his shoulder playfully as Aries giggled. "-I did get to see the earlier reservations. You just weren't anywhere to be found."

"Makes sense," Lucy nodded. "I used fake names. You know, being on the run from a crazy vampire who wanted me dead." She shrugged. "Fun times."

Loke nodded as well, a small smirk on his lips. "Sounds like it."

Lucy squinted her eyes, as Loke was looking at her with a… look in his eyes.

"What's with you?" she finally decided to ask.

"Oh, nothing," Loke raised his hands in surrender. "I just think it's interesting to see how much you've grown as a person." If Lucy could've physically blushed, she would. "Shut your mouth, cat," she grumbled, though she couldn't help but slip on a small smile.

It meant a lot to her that she had grown. Though some of that growth came from being forced into a totally different life, it was still growth. She wasn't the heiress of the Heartfilia estate anymore - unless she decided to buy back the property - now she was just Lucy of Fairy Tail.

And she was happy. It was temporary right now since her newborn brain hated her, but she felt happy. Happier than she could remember being for the past few months. She was sitting with her family, whom she thought she had lost completely, and they were about to add a new member to that family.

Everything was so peaceful.

Everything was so peaceful until Lucy caught onto a scent. At that moment, she knew she was _fucked_.

"Oh god," she groaned, causing Aries and Loke to give her a confused look. To answer them, she pointed at the door. "Door."

Less than two seconds later, someone knocked on the door. The couple was still confused about Lucy's strange behavior, but nonetheless, Loke got up to open the door.

"Hello," Loke greeted, his voice wary and slow. "Can I help you?"

"Yes, hello," the person at the door greeted. "We are looking for our friend, Lucy Heartfilia. We have tracked her to your home, and we would really like to see her."

With her sensitive hearing, Lucy could hear Loke breathe out relieved. Maybe her reaction to catching their smell had been a little overboard, but when you've heard stories of how terrifying Erza Scarlet could be when angry, Lucy found her reaction reasonable.

And as Loke cracked the door a bit more open, Erza Scarlet was indeed standing there. She wore a serious, but not angry expression on her face; Gray lurking in the background, awkwardly waving his hand when he noticed Lucy by the table.

Dangling from Erza's shoulders was none other than Natsu, passed out and snoring. In the safety of the inside of his vest, sat the small Exceed, hugging the fabric as was it a blanket.

Storming past Loke - and dropping off the unconscious werewolf in the couch - Erza pulled Lucy to her feet, slamming her against her metal chest plate, her arms wrapping around the vampire's shoulders. A dull ache spread through Lucy's head, but at least she wasn't getting beat up.

"Don't you ever leave without telling anyone again," she warned in the most motherly way. Pulling away a bit, she asked, "Is that understood?"

As the demi-gods gaze met Lucy's, she knew that Erza wasn't playing around, and if it happened again, she'd probably have a fate similar to Natsu's.

"Y-yes, ma'am," Lucy sputtered, barely comprehending what was happening, as her head was still throbbing from the collision with the demi-god's armor.

A satisfied smile spread across Erza's lips, and as she 'gently' patted Lucy's shoulders, she turned to Aries, who had yet to introduce herself.

"It's such a lovely home you have," Erza complimented kindly. "I knocked Natsu out because he was threatening to break in." She spoke as if it was the most normal thing she could've done.

"T-Thank you, miss," Aries responded, bowing her head slightly. From where she was sitting, she gestured towards the empty chairs around the table, "Why don't y-you come in and sit. I'll… I'll fix up some tea."

"Nope, I'm on it," Loke called as he wandered into the kitchen - trying to avoid any kind of awkwardness that was inevitably going to happen.

As Erza sat down beside Aries, bombarding the shy, pregnant stranger with questions, Gray sat down beside Lucy.

Stiff and awkward as ever, he leaned towards Lucy's side, "Natsu's really upset. I don't know why, but I think you two should talk," he whispered, an odd attempt of kindness in his voice. The two of them had just gotten on good terms, but best friend terms were a stretch. Gray needed to forgive himself for what happened to Ur, and Lucy needed to stop saying sorry for existing. Both of them had personal things to deal with, but making an effort to become friends seemed like a reasonable goal. "He's pretty annoying to listen to when he's like that."

A small wave (which would soon turn big) of guilt hit Lucy, knowing that her sudden disappearance act had hurt Natsu. Honestly, she didn't regret it, and that made her feel even guiltier.

"Great," Lucy sighed her past actions of just leaving finally catching up to her. Gazing over at the sleeping werewolf, she took a shaky breath. "This day's theme seems to be 'talking it out' anyway."

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The wolf is coming for Lucy, so to speak. And look at Gray trying to be a friend. Precious.
> 
> I promise things are going to heat up a bit within the next two chapters, but I hope you still enjoy these kind of 'slow-going' chapters.
> 
> Writing with depression is soOoOoOOOO hard, but hey here I am! I personally think that it's going to be more realistic for me to post every 3-4 weeks. I don't know why, but I can be the slowest writer ever, but I do write. I can't promise anything, but I will at least try.
> 
> If you're ever curious about when a chapter will come out, you can message me on my Tumblr which is 'iconicallygay'. This not only give you an idea of when the next chapter is out, but reminds me to write ahahaha.
> 
> But I really missed all of you, so I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Leave a review of what you thought!
> 
> Thanks to all the commenters for inspiring me to continue writing, as well as everyone who followed and left a kudos. It means the world to me!
> 
> Until next time,
> 
> /Sofie


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